>> Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman.
President Trump has sent Steve Witkov and Jared Kushner to Pakistan to meet
“with Iran's foreign minister in hopes of reviving peace talks.”
White House press spokesperson Caroline Levitt says the two will meet with Abbas Arachi on Saturday. >> We certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days. Again, the president has made the decision to send Steven Jared to hear the Iranians out. And so we'll see what they have to say this earlier.
>> Iran, however, says the foreign minister will be holding other meetings in Islamabad but none with the US. Oil producers surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas expect only a modest increase in U.S. oil production in response to the war in Iran.
As NPR's criminal down on asking reports, crude oil prices are currently high, but companies say they don't have enough certainty about the future to invest in more production. >> The Dallas Fed, which regularly surveys oil executives, asked a bonus round of questions about the Iran War.
“And how much the U.S. will boost domestic production.”
Most of the companies responding predict production growth of less than half a million
barrels of oil per day. That's less than U.S. production is grown annually on average the last few years. And it's a fraction of the more than 10 million barrels per day, the world is missing right now. Some exec said higher costs and shortages of staff and machines are hampering
and drilling, while many emphasize that uncertainty and chaos make it hard to plan. Camila Domenoski and B.R. News. >> The average price of a regular gallon of gas is around $4.59 right now. California has the highest average around $5.88 a gallon. The Justice Department is dropping its investigation
into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The decision likely paves the way for the Senate to confirm President Trump's nominee to head the central bank, Kevin Worsh and PR's Ryan Lucas reports. >> The U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Janine Piero says in a statement on X,
“that her office is closing its investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell over”
cost overruns in the renovations of the Fed's headquarters. Piero says instead, the Federal Reserve's Inspector General has been asked to examine the cost issues. The Justice Department's investigation into Powell generated major blowback for the Trump administration when the probe's existence became public earlier this year.
It prompted North Carolina Republican Senator Tom Tillis to threaten to block President Trump's pick to replace Powell at the Fed, Kevin Worsh, unless the DOJ dropped its investigation. Now, the decision to do exactly that appears to clear the way for the Senate to move forward on Worsh's nomination. Ryan Lucas and PR News, Washington.
>> Georgia Governor Brian Camp says at least 87 homes have been burned in rural Brantley County this week by a wildfire, and he says another 35 homes that burned in another fire in Clinton, Eccles County, is near the Florida State line. Scientists say the threat of fire in the state has been amplified by drought,
winds, and climate change. You're listening to NPR News. The Trump administration is placing sanctions in a major China-based oil refinery in some 40 shipping companies. Officials say it's part of an effort to cut off Iran's oil exports.
The oil refinery has been receiving oil from Iran since 2023. China says the use of sanctions undermines in a national trade order and rules. A zoo in central Florida has taken in 13 slots from a detraction known as "slothworld" in Orlando.
The operation has never opened to the public, and it recently came under fire
for importing dozens of slots that wound up dying as Molly Durig. Central Florida Public Media in Orlando reports. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says 31 wild sloths imported from Guyana in Peru died between December 2024 and February 2025. Most died from a cold stun after arriving at an Orlando warehouse with no water or electricity.
Richard Glover is CEO of the Central Florida Zoo in Botanical Gardens. We were very excited to have the opportunity and grateful that he chose to donate them to us. There are other things he could have done with them, and so we're excited to have the opportunity to give them the best possible chance for a good outcome they could have. This week Orange County issued a stop-work order for the Sothworld facility,
which is permitted to store vehicles, not animals. For NPR News, I'm Molly Durig in Orlando. The PGA says Jim Furrick will cap to the next U.S. Ryder Cup team. He'll be the fourth American captain to get another chance since 1979 when you're up join the competition, Tiger Woods was in line to be captain,
but pulled his name from consideration after his arrest in Florida last month. I'm Dale Wilman and PR News. Every story from shortwave and PR science podcast starts with a question. Like, why do we have nightmares? How does AI affect my energy bill?
At NPR, we are here for your right to be curious about the world around you. Follow shortwave wherever you get your podcast, because the more you ask, the more interesting the world gets.
