Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez announced he will resign tomorrow.
“Gonzalez was accused of having a sexual relationship with a staff member who later took”
her own life. Texas Public Radio's David Martin Davies has more. Gonzalez's resignation announcement came hours after California Democratic Representative Eric Swallwell also announced his own plan to resign. Swallwell is facing allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from at least four women.
Gonzalez had already dropped his bid for reelection after being forced into a primary runoff and the launch of a congressional ethics investigation into his behavior. Gonzalez did not make it clear when he would officially leave Congress. It's up to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, to call a special election to fill Gonzalez's seat.
For NPR News, I'm David Martin Davies in San Antonio. Swallwell had been seen as a front runner in California's gubernatorial race before dropping out yesterday after the accusation's surface. Swallwell and Gonzalez were among four house members, two Democrats and two Republicans facing possible expulsion over alleged misconduct.
“The Israeli military says it has completed completely surrounded a key town in southern Lebanon,”
which it says is a Hezbollah command point.
The announcement comes as Israeli and Lebanese diplomats are preparing to hold the first
direct meeting between government officials in decades tomorrow as NPR's Cat Lonstor reports. Israel says that it will have full control of the Lebanese town of Ben Chibil, quote within days. The town has become the center of intense fighting.
It's part of land that Israel says it's seizing from Lebanon to create what it calls a buffer zone so has bullet campfire rockets into Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Cats both joined invading troops inside Lebanon over the weekend where cats said Israel would remove the threat, quote, "just as we did in Gaza," including demolishing homes so they can't
become, quote, "terror outposts."
“Lebanon says nearly 40,000 houses have been destroyed or heavily damaged mainly in the south”
in the past five weeks. Cat Lonstor and Piano's Barut. Sales have previously occupied U.S. homes fell in March to their slowest pace in nine months as NPR's Scott Horsley reports lower rates last month and more properties on the market failed to motivate homes shoppers during what's traditionally the busiest time of
the year for the housing market. The U.S. housing market remains in a slump according to the National Association of Realtors sales of existing homes fell 3.6% last month. For homes that did sell in March, the average sales price was just under $409,000. Saudi Mac says mortgage rates which briefly dip below 6% this spring, around averaging 6.37%.
NPR's Scott Horsley and President Trump is trying to explain away a now-deleted social media post depicting himself as "Jesus" by saying he thought it showed him as a doctor. He's also refusing to apologize to Pope Leo after criticizing his opposition to the war. It's NPR. The Trump administration has agreed to resume flying a rainbow pride flag at the Stonewall
National Monument in New York City, reversing chorus after removing the banner in February. The government is trying to settle a lawsuit found by LGBTQ+ and historic preservation groups who had sought to block the removal, a judge must still approve the agreement. They ruled the 80s pop charts and now they're being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame from Member Station WKSU.
Khabir Batia has more on the performers in this year's class at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Luther Bandross and Phil Collins have been eligible for the Rock Hall for 20 years and Shadee for almost as long. They're all in the class of 2026, along with British post-punk leggings, joy division, and their spin-off group, New Order.
Two more British acts, Iron Maiden and Billy Eidel, made the cut this year after being active since the 1970s. And Oasis in the midst of a long anticipated reunion will also be inducted on November 14th in Los Angeles. Rounding up this year's class is Wu Tang Clan, the hip hop collective that's been the
subject of numerous documentaries in the past decade. For NPR News, I'm Kabir Batia, in Cleveland. Baseball's new automatic ball strike system could be making games a little longer so far this season, with a time of a nine-in-game creeping upward to two hours and 42 minutes through this weekend.
That's up four minutes from last season, and that's all after the league's successfully brought down the length of games in 2023 by introducing a pitch timer and other rules. This is NPR News.
