"Ly from NPR News," I'm Lakshmi Singh.
Some ships with links to Iran are transiting the Strait of Hormuz, despite a US naval
“blockade in place meant to prevent all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.”
Here's NPR's Jackie Northam. "By Liberian flag, Cristiana is one of the ships, according to Kepler, a global trade intelligence provider that crossed the Strait of Hormuz Monday evening after departing an Iranian port. Outers earlier, the US military had set up its naval blockade. Several ships sanctioned by the US for Iran trade, including the rich starry and the
Elpus, also crossed the Strait unimpeded by the US Navy. Ships can mask their movements, either by turning off their transponders, or transmitting
false data, known as spoofing.
There are hundreds of oil tankers, container ships, and bulk carriers stuck in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the war began at the end of February. Two are willing to risk transiting the Strait because of the danger. Jackie Northam NPR News." While the US attempts to pressure Iran into agreeing to its terms for ending their conflict,
it is also hosting cease-fire talks in Washington, D.C. to day-between Israel and Lebanon. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he hopes a framework for peace comes out of the meeting, and Pierce Catelon's story says the Lebanese government is under pressure to disarm his bolla.
“It is really a question of how much can the Lebanese government influence his actions?”
Israel won't agree to any deal, unless there is a tangible plan with the Lebanese government
for disarming his blam. This has been a longstanding Israeli demand, but his blam has rearmed regardless, and has been firing near constant rockets into northern Israel during this war. NPR is Catelon's story for reporting. A central tool in America's intelligence apparatus will expire next Monday if Congress fails to renew it. NPR's Eric McDaniel has more.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the government to collect the electronic communications of foreign nationals located outside of the United States without a warrant, and according to the government, the trove of information collected through the program informs a huge portion of the President's daily intelligence briefing.
“Sometimes the surveillance targets communicate with Americans, and some lawmakers of both”
parties want to require a targeted court order before the government can peruse those specific calls, text, and emails. The government says that reform would hamstring surveillance and jeopardized national security, and that process reforms enacted in the last few years are already leading to dramatically fewer searches, Eric McDaniel and PR News, Washington. Los Angeles school employees are not on strike after all, but got pretty close.
So, SUNY representing support staff says, "It reached a tentative contract agreement early this morning on raises another major gains with the district. From Washington, this is NPR News." The DC appellate court ordered a lower court judge to stop his contempt investigation over whether the Trump administration purposefully violated his order blocking deportations. A three-judge panel rule two to one that the lower court judge James
Boesberg of the Federal Court in Washington DC was wrongly delving into matters of national security and diplomacy, which was a "clear abuse of discretion." The case stems back to President Trump's decision to invoke the Alien Enemies Act in March of last year to target certain Venezuelan immigrants accused of being members of a gang. Many people in the United States are getting bigger tax refunds. That is due in large part to the signature tax law passed
by Republicans last year, but in PR Steven Besah how reports far a few people may actually notice the bump. The average refund is about $350 more this year compared to the same time last year. And most filers should receive at least some bump according to Andrew Loutz with the bipartisan policy center. But the center surveyed Americans and found only 27% think last year's tax changes favored them. We know that the vast majority of Americans are going to get a tax cut this
year from this bill, but people don't perceive it as that, right? Even among Republicans, only 35% said the tax changes favored them. Part of that could be because the White House projected average refunds around $1,000, not the $350 that's been the case so far. Steven Besahab and PR News. This is NPR.
