Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryle and Barton.
The Supreme Court has paused an appeals court order on President Trump's $400 million
“ballroom project, meaning construction can carry on for now and PR's Emily Fang reports.”
The Supreme Court put a stay on a lower court's order to halt construction, but the higher court did not give an explanation for its decision. Two lower courts already ruled that the ballroom project is likely illegal because Congress
never approved it, but this Supreme Court order means the administration can continue
with the 90,000 square foot addition to the White House. The Trump administration has argued the ballroom is not just in aesthetic necessity, but a national security issue as well. And material supplied to the Supreme Court, D. John Sauer, the solicitor general and a former personal lawyer for Trump, is that the future ballroom would include a sniper's nest, drone
proof, roofs, and a hospital. Emily Fang and PR News, Washington. The Department of Education is threatening the American Bar Association's ability to acredit law schools, and PR's Genaki Menta reports this is the Trump administration's latest attack on the ABA.
“In most states, a school must be ABA approved for students to take the bar exam and become”
licensed lawyers. The Trump administration has called out the ABA as being too progressive, including for its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Now, the Education Department has taken its first step to strip the ABA of its power
to acredit law schools. A department spokesperson told NPR that the ABA did not comply with its accreditation regulations and shared a near 500 page report that, in part, claims that the ABA is not sufficiently independent of the institutions' decredits. Melissa Hart, who chairs the ABA's accreditation council, said, quote, "The council is confident
it complies with the Higher Education Act and with the department's requirements for accreditors." A final decision to take away the ABA's accreditation power could take months. Janaki Batha and Pernus Northwest Indiana is in its second week of power outages due to storms that hit the state on August 11th, Barbangiano reports city and state officials are calling
“for more transparency from electricity provider, Northern Indiana Public Service Company,”
or NIPSCO. NIPSCO says nearly 375,000 to customers lost power in what they called the worst outage in the company's history, and estimates the power is still out for nearly 68,000 to customers. Mary Indiana was one of the hardest hit areas, NIPSCO says they expect power will be back there Tuesday.
Gary Mayer, Eddie Melton, says it's been a frustrating situation. "I have to demand that NIPSCO provide more accurate restoration times, specifically for Gary, because the information that was shared was omitting, like, Gary." Indiana Governor Mike Braun in a social media post Thursday praised crews working around the clock to restore power. He also urged NIPSCO to take the situation seriously.
For NPR News, I'm Barbangiano in Indianapolis. This is NPR News from Washington. The number of people receiving snap food aid has fallen more than 13% in a year as changes to the program start to kick in. The loss of help is making it hard for some families to figure out what to do. More people are required to work to receive the aid now and that
change has come with more reporting requirements, and states will be required to pay more of the costs of running the program later this year. The world's oldest living person is celebrating her 117th birthday today, Ethel Caterum from England got the title after the death last year of 116 year old Brazilian nun, and Piers of Fatima Al Casab, has more.
Ethel Caterum was born in 1909, and has lived through the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression, and two-world wars. She's the last surviving subject of King Edward VII. For her 116th birthday last year, she got a visit from his great-great-grandson, King Charles. According to Guinness World Records, she's also one of the oldest people to survive COVID
after contracting it in 2020. She's celebrating with family and friends at Annassing Home in Surrey, outside London, and says she's looking forward to what next year might bring. Fatima Al Casab, MPR News London. Next week is Fat Marmett Week, last winter was tough for the Groundhog-like rodents
in the Colorado Mountains, but the Marmets that survived are doing well.
They've fattened up gaining the critical weight they need to make it through next winter
to drum up interest in their work. Marmett researchers are launching a contest for the public to vote for their favorite critter. Fat Marmett Week begins on Monday. Major US stock indexes rose today.
This is NPR News from Washington. For the first time, US government debt has surpassed $40 trillion a massive number that affects your bottom line. This week on Consider This, we connect the dots between the national debt and your car payment, your mortgage, your small business loan, and so much more.
Listen to Consider This, the daily afternoon news podcast from NPR.
