"Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
A federal judge has extended a block on President Trump's $1.8 billion fund that the administration
“says could pay allies who claim they've been targeted by the government.”
The judge said the move was necessary despite statements from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that the fund was not moving forward. The judge is giving the Justice Department one week to provide a "clear, unambiguous declaration that under penalty of perjury that the fund will not move ahead." A federal judge has refused to stop the White House from staging a UFC mixed martial arts
event on the South Lawn this weekend. The Trump administration calls the lawsuit baseless saying it's no different from any other events hosted at public forums in the Capitol, and PR's Danielle Kurtzleben has more. "A watchdog group has filed a lawsuit attempting to halt the fight, noting the money that UFC stands to make off the event, and that Trump owns up to $50,000 of stock in
the company that owns UFC." The DOJ has responded, saying in part it would be too disruptive to halt an event a year in the making, and noting past President's White House events. White House spokesperson Davis Engel insisted to NPR there are no conflicts of interest,
“and added that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children.”
"NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reporting, the U.S. men's national soccer team plays its first game of the world cup tonight in Los Angeles and Piers Becky Sullivan reports they'll take on Paraguay." U.S. soccer has been planning for this world cup for a long, long time. After the Americans failed to qualify for the World Cup back in 2018, they cleaned house
in a new staff brought in a whole new generation of young players to develop. The 2022 tournament was a first test for the young squad, they reached the round of 16. Now, their older, the core is in their prime and they're playing here at home. Here's midfielder, Tyler Adams.
"This is like, for me, the biggest opportunity to just really grow the game, like to inspire people to show that American players are at the level of the rest of the world." Paraguay is the first of the team's three group stage matches. Next up, we'll be Australia, then Turkey, then the team hopes a run in the knockout round.
“Becky Sullivan and PR news, Los Angeles.”
"Oil settled that it's lowest price in months today, after President Trump once again promised that it deal with Iran as imminent as Ampera's Camilla Dominozki reports, gas prices are also coming down." Global crude oil prices were north of $100 a barrel for much of this conflict. The global benchmark for crude is now well under $90.
And lower than it's been at any point since early March. That's largely because of hopes for a deal. The US also says it's been helping some tankers move covertly through the straight-of-war moves. Lower crude prices have helped ease pressure at the gas pump.
The national average for regular gasoline is now $4.11 per gallon, down more than $0.40 from a month ago, Camilla Dominozki and PR news. US stocks rose today, the Dow added nearly three quarters of a percent. This is NPR news. A coalition of renewable energy groups is suing the Pentagon over its failure to complete
national security reviews for new wind farms.
They say it's an unlawful freeze that jeopardizes $47 billion in investments.
The suit says 106 wind projects are affected by the delays so far. The Pentagon says it's evaluating projects to make sure they don't hurt national security. Women in the US are having fewer babies, and a new paper suggests smart phones may be partly responsible, and PR Scott Horsey reports the birth rate has tumbled more than 20 percent since the iPhone was introduced.
Social scientists have been puzzled by the persistent drop in birth rates over the last two decades. At first, they thought it was a temporary response to the great recession, but even after the economy bounced back, births did not. So economists, Caitlin Myers, a middlebury college, went looking for other explanations.
When we looked for the candidates, we should be looking for things that were large shocks that started around 2007, and are affecting a lot of people. When Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, service was initially limited to AT&T by comparing birth rates and areas with and without AT&T coverage, Myers found a strong link between smartphone penetration and fewer babies.
Scott Horsey and PR News, Washington. An Ohio Labor Union has filed a grievance over the use of goats to clear brush at a water reclamation plant in Columbus, according to local CBS affiliate 10 TV, Ash's Me Local 1632 says the city has a blatant disregard for labor by not notifying about the subcontractors. The scabs and question Kevin Wilson and Marty and several dozen others don't pay
dues and don't complain about long hours. This is NPR. This is our glass, on this American life, when they mean like, it's a good mystery. Sometimes about really big things, but most times, the little mysteries are the best. Our lost and found is currently filled with pants.
I don't know what I've never seen this happen, this is true.
Mysteries of every size each week, this American life, wherever you get your podcasts.
