"Live from NPR news in Washington, 9 Corv.
is being shaken, the U.S. military says it shot down Iranian drones around the
Strait of Hormuz and hit an area along Iran's coast overnight. Iran says it responded by targeting an unidentified U.S. base. Kuwait says it intercepted drone, so it appears Iran's attack was on U.S. positions there. And Pierre's A.A. Batrawi reports this comes as President Trump and Iran are supposed to be trying to reach a peace deal.
"All indications are that Trump is pursuing a diplomatic solution with Iran right now,
“not more war. That's what Gulf Arab states want, as well, including mediators like Oman,”
which has long been a neutral, peaceful, and trusted go between for Washington and Tehran. But yesterday, Trump shocked people with a threat to blow up Oman. It was in response to a
question at the White House about whether Iran and Oman, which bordered the Strait of Hormuz,
would control access to this waterway under any deal." Trump then said, "Oman understands that, and that, quote, they'll be fine." The President wants to suspend the federal gas tax for six months. Gas prices have been driven higher by the war, and Pierre Steven Bissah reports those tax dollars are used to maintain roads and highways in the U.S.
"Potholes cost drivers billions of dollars and repairs each year. Patrick Marshall knows what that's like after hitting a dip in New Orleans." The entire wheel almost fell off the truck completely. "It cost him $2,500."
“"Absolutely, and it's a tough hit to take when it's an unexpected expense."”
What the federal gas tax brings in is not enough to pay for all road repairs. But Robot with lending trees says, "Any time you cut highway maintenance funding, then you're running the risk of the roads getting worse and not better." State gas taxes are usually higher. Some states like Georgia have paused theirs. That means more savings are drivers, but less money for road repairs.
Steven Bissaha and PR news. "An nominees for the U.S. Senate in Texas can Paxton and James Toloreco are criticizing each other from Houston Public Media Michael Adkinson reports." Paxton's campaign is calling his Democratic opponent "too low T for Texas." This new ad accuses Toloreco of not representing Texas' values.
Using previous statements from Toloreco himself. "This is Texas. This is not the American flag. It's such a complicated symbol for most of us."
“In his own ad comprised entirely from newsclips,”
Toloreco highlighted the allegations brought against Paxton during his state impeachment trial two years ago. "Briberate, their election of duty, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy, a majority of Texas House Republicans voted who impeached one of their own." Both nominees accuse each other of being too flawed for Texas. They'll face off in this high-profile race in November.
"For NPR News, I'm Michael Adkinson in Houston." "This is NPR." The World Health Organization's director general is going to Democratic Republic of the Congo today. Dr. Tedros Adneham Gabriacis will observe the WHO's response to the Ebola outbreak. The agency says there are more than 220 suspected Ebola deaths
and more than a thousand suspected cases. The charitable arm of artificial intelligence company, OpenAI, will dedicate a quarter of a
billion dollars to research. This is research into huge economic changes from AI,
and B.R. John Ruich reports. "The OpenAI Foundation is committing $250 million to understanding the coming changes and to support workers through the disruption. It says the economic effects of AI will be widely felt, but it still has no good ways to answer fundamental questions about how AI is changing and will change the economy. Part of the work will be to research how to distribute the
economic gains from AI more broadly. This pledge comes amid a wave of layoffs in the tech sector that are in part due to AI. It also comes after a jury threw out a lawsuit alleging that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman abandoned the nonprofit's mission of creating AI for the benefit of humanity. John Ruich and PR News "There are nine finalists in this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee. They will compete today
in Washington DC for the championship. The spellers are from all over the country from Georgia to Los Angeles. The winner will receive a medal, the Scripps Cup, and more than $50,000 in prize money. I'm Core of a Coleman and PR News." News shows new music, new movies, keeping up with pop culture sometimes feels like a full-time job. Thankfully, over at pop culture happy-hour, it's literally our job. We break down what's actually worth watching, listening to, and pretending
you already knew about. So the next time someone says, "Did you see that?" You can say, "Yeah, obviously, follow NPR's pop culture happy-hour wherever you get your podcasts."
