"Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rom.
Vice President J.D. Vans and others to Pakistan tomorrow, for talks on ending the war
“in Iran. On social media he posted the U.S. is offering a very fair and reasonable deal”
and he hopes they take it. If not, he wrote, "The U.S. will knock out every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran, adding in caps, no more Mr. Nice Guy." Pakistan's
capital is preparing to host these talks for a second time.
Betsy Joel's reports. Public transport in the city has been suspended. Two five star hotels have been cleared of guests, and movement in and out of the high security red zone has been restricted. Islamabad shut down in a similar fashion ahead of the first round of peace talks that were held in the city last weekend. Those talks ended without a deal. Pakistan says it has continued to act as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran since then,
though its foreign ministry has remained tight-lipped about what negotiations have entailed. For NPR news, I'm Betsy Joel's in Islamabad. British police say they're investigating whether a series of attacks and vandalism against
Jewish sites in London are the work of Iran-backed arsonists. No one has been injured in any
of the attacks, which have hit Jewish charities and places of worship in the U.K.'s capital over the past month. NPR's Lauren Freyer reports from London. The latest arson attack left minor smoke damage at a north London synagogue. Jewish charities and ambulances have also been targeted. And the U.K.'s chief rabbi says the violence is gaining momentum. Police have boosted patrols and several people have been arrested for alleged
hate crimes. Counter-terrorism officials now say they're investigating whether these attacks as well as another against a Persian language Iranian opposition media outlet could be the work of Iranian proxies. There has been an online claim of responsibility from a little known group Israel accuses of having links to Iran. In the past, it's also claimed attacks against synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands. Lauren Freyer and PR News London.
Voting is underway in Bulgaria for a new Parliament. This is the 8th election in five years in an effort to end a prolonged political impasse. The last government led by conservatives resigned after nationwide protests in December. Police was just the frontrunner as a newly reformed center left coalition led by former President Roman Radhev who supports Russia. This morning at Cape Canaveral Florida. There we go. Big water.
We're a team manager. Blue Origin launched its new Glenn rocket into low earth orbit.
Its booster came back to earth about 10 minutes later. This is the company's first landing of a
“reuse booster. The mission is key to Blue Origin's efforts to show it can compete”
with Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This is NPR News in Washington. Ukrainian police are trying to determine a motive for yesterday's mass shooting and key. A man opened fire outside a supermarket, killing at least six people before being shot dead by police. Florida's Board of Education has pulled sociology from the list of classes students attending state colleges can choose from in order to graduate.
As Katherine Welch reports, this follows a similar move at the state's 12 public universities. The Board of Education voted to remove introductory sociology courses from counting toward general education requirements. At Florida's 28th state colleges, the classes will still be available as electives. The Board's chair said in a statement that general education courses can not be used as quote vehicles for indoctrination.
Sociology has been in the crosshairs since a 2023 Florida law banned courses that include teachings about how racism, sexism, and privilege are inherent in the country's institutions. The United Faculty of Florida called the state's earlier changes to sociology textbooks, sanitizing. For NPR News, I'm Katherine Welch in Orlando. The Angola prison rodeo wraps up today. It's a two-day twice a year event where
inmates of Louisiana state penitentiary compete in cowboy events such as bearback riding, barrel racing, and bulldogging. Less active competitions include convict poker. Arts and crabs hand-made by the inmates are also for sale, and for the kids there's a carousel and pony rides. I'm Nora Rom, NPR News. What happens when our political party becomes the prism through which we see every other aspect of our identities. What we're living through,
“I think, is really the two parties taking opposite sides on whether we want to keep making this”
type of social progress or whether we want to go back in time. This is the NPR's Co-Switch podcast in the NPR app or wherever you get your pockets.
