"Live from NPR news in Washington, 9/4 of a Coleman, Iran state media report ...
"an American F-15 fighter jet has gone down in that country.
“A U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly has confirmed these reports to NPR.”
The official says that a search is underway by U.S. forces." Explosions are reported in Iran as the U.S. and Israel continue to strike the country. Iran is choking off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump wrote online today that, quote, "With a little more time, we can easily open the Hormuz Strait, take the oil, and make a fortune."
But he said something quite different this week and his national address, he told other countries they need to take care of the Strait. NPR's Jackie Northam reports Iran is now saying it will start charging the ships that sail through it. "An Iranian lawmaker says the fee for a ship to pass through the Strait of Hormuz could cost
up to $2 million. It will involve government-to-government negotiations, getting permits,
and transiting through Iranian territorial water. The total system is still being formalized, and currently appears ad hoc.
“Analysts say some ships, including those from India, Pakistan, and China, have worked out”
deals diplomatically, Iranian-owned and flagged vessels won't be charged, and any ship with links to the U.S. or Israel will not be allowed to pass full stop. And let's say it's unlikely a toll system similar to the Suez Canal would get regional buy-in, and that opening the Strait through diplomacy is still the best answer. Jackie Northam, NPR News President Trump is asking Congress for one and a half trillion dollars
in defense spending. It is the largest increase ever in modern history. It comes as the Trump administration pursues the war in Iran. Also this morning, President Trump says there's a new White House fraud task force. It will mostly focus on Democratic-led states, and fear's Daniel Kurtzleben reports.
Trump called Vice President JD Vance, who's leading the task force the frauds are. He added that while the task force will look for fraud nationwide, it would focus primarily in blue states, led by in Trump's words, crooked Democrat politicians.
“Trump then listed California, Illinois, Minnesota, Maine, and New York as examples.”
He also explicitly called out Minnesota for having a large Somali population. Trump created the task force in mid-March. He has made combating fraud a central part of his political message ahead of November's mid-terms. Daniel Kurtzleben and PR News, the White House.
"It's not clear of Congress will soon resolve its impasse over funding the Department of Homeland Security in an executive order President Trump moved some money within the agency to pay TSA workers. Jill DeGranovich is a TSA agent and union representative. She says not all officers have gotten all their back pay."
We're scared because we don't know how long this isn't going to last. Hundreds of TSA agents have quit. This is NPR. The Labor Department says 178,000 new jobs were created in March. That's a lot more than the 60,000 jobs economists had predicted.
The unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.3%. The report is based on data from early March. It may not fully reflect the effects of the war against Iran. If you don't like your username on Gmail, you may soon be able to change it.
NPR's John Ruich reports this would be the first time since Google launched the email
service in 2004. Sundar Pachai, the CEO of Google, tweeted about the new feature. 2004 was a good year, but your Gmail address doesn't need to be stuck in it, he wrote. The company has been planning the new policy since last year and according to a statement online, it's pretty easy to change your Gmail address.
You can do it right in the personal info section of your account. Once you change your username, Google says the old one will still be there as what they call an alternate account. In other words, you'll still get emails sent to your old Gmail address. This will come as a relief to some.
The inability to change username has been a source of frustration for a slice of the
3 billion users Google says rely on Gmail.
Like people who may have signed up years ago with username that are inaccurate now, or inappropriate, or just cringe worthy, John Ruich and PR news. Orcasters say a late wintery storm is bringing heavy snow, sleet, and a lot of ice to the upper Midwest and great lakes today, northern Michigan and Wisconsin could see up to half an inch of ice.
Wall Street is closed today for the Christian observance of Good Friday. You're listening to NPR.
