LINE from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
Just one or two Republican votes stand between Todd Blanche and his hopes for a Senate
“confirmation as the next U.S. Attorney General.”
Senator John Corneff, Texas tells reporters time is running out for the Justice Department's currently interim chief to formally modify a settlement president Trump reached to resolve a lawsuit against the internal revenue service. Well, Senator Grassley tells me that we need to know by four o'clock this afternoon, whether the markup is still on.
So we still got a little time, and hopefully they now recognize the seriousness of this. I'm not prepared to go, yes, let me put it that way. Corneff wants plans to commit to a promise he made earlier this month to ensure the settlement
does not include an anti-weaponization fund, Democrats have described it as a 1.776 billion dollar
taxpayer-funded slush fund for Trump's allies. Doctor Anthony Fauci declined to answer any questions before a Senate committee focused on COVID-19. NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports Fauci was subpoena to appear by the committee's chairman Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Dr. Fauci and Senator Paul have long spared over the coronavirus pandemic. Days before this hearing, Paul released over a thousand pages of Fauci's private writings, accusing him of covering up the origins of COVID-19. Fauci pointed out that he has responded to similar questions in previous testimony, and Fauci accused the Senator of being obsessed with trying to get him behind bars.
Although it pains me to do so, because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government under the advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the fifth amendment
of the Constitution to refrain from answering your questions.
Senator Paul and other lawmakers continued asking questions and Fauci continued declining to answer Jonathan Lambert and PR News.
“Mr. Market indices are down sharply ahead of the Federal Reserve's key decision on interest”
rates. It will be announced next hour. The Dow is falling more than 700 points or roughly one and a half percent. And PR Scott Horsley reports the Fed meeting wrapping up today is the second being led by the new Fed chair, Kevin Horses.
President Trump made it clear when he nominated Kevin Horses that he wanted the Fed to lower interest rates, but that looks unlikely for the time being. Inflation is still well above the Fed's target, thanks in part to a wartime spike in gasoline prices. Forecasters think it's likely the Central Bank will hold its benchmark interest rates
steady today, and there's a possibility it could even push rates higher. Worst old lawmakers earlier this month, he and his colleagues have no tolerance for elevated inflation. The Fed's also keeping a close eye on the job market, but with unemployment running just
over 4 percent, regaining control over prices is the Central Bank's top priority for
now. Scott Horsley and PR News is Washington. The Dow's down 1.4 percent, the Nasdaq is down more than 200 points or nearly 1 percent. This is NPR News. Glenn Hansard, the Irish singer who won an Oscar for the musical movie once died today.
He was 56 years old. Hansard's management shared a statement with NPR and confirmed that he died following a motorcycle crash in Dublin. The massive search operation is underway in southwestern Japan, which was struck this week by magnitude 6.8 earthquake.
Local authorities say the quake killed at least 18 people, including a foreign national, dozens more people were injured. The work of searching for victims in the rubble of homes and damaged shopping mall continues today. China is opposing a federal communications commission ban on foreign-made robots, so
over national security risks. And PR's Jennifer Pack reports Beijing says the United States is trying to suppress its companies. The FCC said it would ban new imports of advanced robotics, including foreign-made humanoid robots and robot dogs.
While the directive doesn't single out China, China just so happens to make more humanoid robots than the U.S. China's foreign ministry says the U.S. is overstretching the concept of national security, and that protectionism does not make the U.S. more competitive. This ban does not apply to existing models, previously authorized for sale or import into
the U.S. Last week, the U.S. blacklisted dozens of China's research institutions to prevent unauthorized tech transfer. Jennifer Pack and PR News Beijing. The Dow's now down 732 points or 1.3%.
I'm Lakshmi saying, "NPR News." Oh, hey there, I'm Brittany Loose, and I don't know, maybe this is a little out of
“pockets to say, but I think you should listen to my podcast.”
It's called "It's been a Minute," and I love it, and I think you will, too. Over the past couple months, over 100,000 new listeners started tuning in. Find out why.
