Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor, Johnston.
Ukraine is stepping up drone attacks on Russian occupied Crimea, and PR's Greg Myri reports
“the strikes have disrupted power, fuel supplies, and cell phone service across the peninsula.”
Early Thursday, Ukrainian drones knocked out electricity in Sevastopol, the biggest and most important city in Crimea. Now power was restored after several hours, but these are now every day events, electricity and cell phone service is going out for days at a time. Water also gets cut off, fuel is scarce, and has been rationed, people say shops are often
closed. That's NPR's Greg Myri reporting, Russia seized and illegally annex Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Todd Blanch addressed the Justice Department workforce for the first time yesterday as Attorney General, and PR's Kerry Johnson reports Blanch started at the DOJ as an intern 30 years ago.
In remarks at the Justice Department, Todd Blanch reminisced about his own early years at the agency.
He praised lawyers and support staff and the law enforcement agents who never know if they'll
make it home safe each night.
“You make cases for us, you make sacrifices for us, you put your lives on the line every”
day. Blanch says he'll lead DOJ with integrity, and uphold the rule of law. Justice Connection, a group that supports current and former workers there, says hundreds of people have been fired because of their perceived politics, and thousands more have left because of how the Trump administration is weaponizing the agency.
Kerry Johnson, in PR News, Washington. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has been under scrutiny this election season. Its focus is on strengthening the U.S. Israel partnership, but as MPR's Barbara Sprunt reports, it's become the center of a debate over money in politics.
Apex Affiliated Superpack has spent about 62 million dollars in this cycle, according to Open
Secrets which tracks campaign spending. For comparison, that's close to the amount spent by crypto and AI-related superpacks. Apex is often singled out by name and ads and in campaign speeches, becoming a proxy for growing distaste for money in politics. Here's Democratic political analyst Van Jones.
Now, it seems like Apex somehow becomes a symbol of everything that's wrong with money in politics. The organization faces a difficult moment. For decades, there was strong bipartisan support for Israel, support that has waned in the last few years.
Barbara Sprunt and Pernus, Washington. President Trump will highlight his record on crime during a visit to a police academy in New York today as he campaigns for republicans and closely contested races. The White House says he'll release new FBI figures showing violent crime fell last year. This is MPR.
The Kennedy Center board has voted to put President Trump's name back on the building. A new inscription would say the center was restored and renovated by Trump. The board also renamed the surrounding grounds President Donald J. Trump Plaza, a federal judge previously ruled that only Congress can change the facility's name. The judge also cited a law prohibiting new memorials or commemorative plaques at the
center. A new generation of small nuclear reactors could come online in the next few years. Companies successfully turned on four reactors this summer, but public opinion remains split. Hannah Merzbach of the Mountain West News Bureau reports.
A March Gallup poll shows 53% of Americans oppose having a local nuclear plant. Vicky O'Hara was not among them. She owns a bar in atomic city outside of Idaho National Lab, the center of U.S. nuclear research. I live 10 miles away and I'm fine.
I'm not glowing in the dark, you know, there's nothing to be a scared of. But nuclear safety experts are worried the Trump administration's fast tracking of permits could lead to mistakes. The administration sees nuclear power as one way to meet rising energy demand. While many Americans don't want to plant in their backyard, pulling also shows growing
support for the U.S. emphasizing nuclear power more broadly. For MPR News, I'm Hannah Merzbach and Jackson Wyoming. The drop of a storm has formed in a Pacific, prompting a hurricane morning for Hawaii's big island. Forcasters say it could strengthen into a hurricane and start bringing heavy rain to the
islands late today. This is NPR News in Washington. This week on Consider This, stories about the Trump administration. Hear how a former Olympian was targeted by the Justice Department over damage to the reflecting bull.
“Plus, inside Trump's secret decoy flight out of Turkey that left press and cabinet officials”
on Air Force 1 without him. Listen for those stories and more of the week's biggest news.
