Janine Herbst

Under the first order, the federal government would reduce housing regulatory burdens and create incentives for best zoning practices by state and local governments.

The second one would reduce regulatory burdens tied to mortgages.

making it easier for community banks to provide home loans.

But it's unclear how quickly federal efforts can generate new construction or meaningfully reduce mortgage costs.

Evidence of pre-industrial pollution has been found in the ice that caps a mountain in the Alps.

As NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boyce reports, this historical record is disappearing as the ice melts.

And I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst.

Iran has chosen a new supreme leader, Mushtaha Khamenei, son of the late-slain supreme leader.

The hardliner is a cleric and politician, and he's closely allied with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

which the U.S.

designated a terrorist group in 2019.

His selection signals his father's hardline stance will continue.

As Supreme Leader, the 56-year-old is commander-in-chief of the military, the head of state, and the country's politics and religious affairs.

He's only the third Ayatollah the country has had.

That job was created after the Iranian revolution in 1979.

Ayatollah Khamenei ruled for more than 36 years and was killed by Israel at the start of the war in Iran.

Meanwhile, that war is widening.

Thick black plumes of smoke continue to cover skies over Tehran after Israel struck oil storage facilities there, setting them ablaze.

Israel has primarily focused on what it says have been military targets.