Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Christian Wright.
President Trump has announced a three-week extension to the pause and fighting between Israel
“and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
The 10-day ceasefire was to expire in the coming days. Attacks still continue, though, Hezbollah says, "It fired rockets into northern Israel last night. These rarely military responded with its own airstrikes on what it says were military structures." Pope Leo is urging the U.S. and Iran to return to the negotiating table for talks
to end the war, and PR's Ruth Sherlock has more. Speaking during a press conference on the paper plane, as he returned from a trip to countries in Africa, Pope Leo urged leaders to adopt what he called a culture of peace. Calling negotiations between Iran and the United States complex, he urged all sides to engage in dialogue.
Leo said he carried with him a photograph of a young Muslim Lebanese boy, who was killed
in Israel's recent attacks against the Iran-backed group as Bulla there. The same child had been previously photographed carrying a sign welcoming the Pope when Leo visited Lebanon last year.
“When conflicts arise, Pope Leo asked, "The question is, how to promote the values we”
believe in, without the deaths of so many innocent Ruth Sherlock and PR news." The extent of personal injuries and damage and destruction in northern Oklahoma will come to light this morning after multiple tornadoes touch down their late last night. The soaring cost of jet fuel is forcing airlines in Europe to cut thousands of flights, and PR's Joel Rose reports.
German carrier Lufthansa said this week it would cut 20,000 flights from its schedule through the fall to save on jet fuel, KLM and Scandinavian airlines have also trimmed their schedules. Energy experts warned that a prolonged closure of the straight of Hormuz, a narrow waterway off Iran's coast, would lead to higher prices for jet fuel, and even possible shortages in Europe ahead of the peak summer travel season, Joel Rose and PR news.
Major shifts in marijuana policy. The Justice Department has ordered an immediate change in the classification of medical cannabis, Ben Marcus from Colorado Public Radio explains.
“This order moves medical marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3, so rather than being”
in the same category as heroin, it will be in the same category as anabolic steroids or Tylenol with codine. That's expected to normalize the business, meaning it could possibly open up more banking services, allow customers to use credit cards, it could allow businesses to make common tax deductions that they can't right now.
The change could also open up research. The order doesn't apply to recreational marijuana, but the Justice Department is expediting a broader review that could include recreational use. You're listening to NPR news from Washington. A Wisconsin judge convicted of obstruction, obstructing an ice arrest outside of her courtroom
has asked the court to reconsider the verdict. Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugin says new legal president invalidates her conviction. She's asking for a new trial. The jury found Dugin guilty of helping a man evade immigration agents in the courthouse last April.
She's scheduled to be sentenced in June. The tech company meta is laying off about 10% of its staff. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram has been pumping billions of dollars into artificial intelligence. NPR's John Ruich reports an internal memo says meta is reorganizing to offset investments.
A meta spokesperson confirmed the internal memo and it met as chief people officer Janelle Gail says the layoffs are part of a continued effort to run the company more efficiently. The cuts will also allow it to offset other investments the company's making. Gail says while its unwelcome news that puts employees in an uneasy state, the company feels it's the best path forward given the circumstances.
The layoffs will take place on May 20th. meta also will not hire for 6,000 open roles that it had intended to fill.
In January, meta forecast record capital expenditures this year have up to $135 billion
almost double what it spent last year. John Ruich and PR News. Microsoft will offer voluntary buyouts to more than 8,000 U.S. employees next month according to the Associated Press. That's about 7% of the software company's domestic workforce.
I'm Kristen Wright and PR News from Washington. Ford for MP This week on the NPR Politics Podcast for decades the Southern Poverty Law Center has tracked and even infiltrated hate groups. But the Justice Department now alleges the way they funded that work amounted to bank fraud. Is it an honest pursuit of justice or just the latest example of the Trump DOJ targeting
the president's political opponents?
