Lakshmi Singh

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was the subject of an attack at a town hall last night.

She was not harmed and continued the event.

Threats against members of Congress have risen for the third year in a row.

NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports U.S.

Capitol Police attribute this, in part, to a false sense of anonymity online.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not ruling out new military action in Venezuela.

He tells lawmakers that the South American country was a base of operation in this hemisphere for many of the U.S.

's competitors and enemies until ex-president Nicolas Maduro was seized weeks ago.

Rubio is appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a panel on which he was a senior member before he resigned from the Senate last January to assume his current role.

The Federal Reserve is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady this afternoon when policymakers wrap up their latest meeting.

And Pierre Scott Horsley reports the central bank is facing pressure from the White House to cut rates more aggressively.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down slightly at 48,997.

The S&P and Nasdaq also down a fraction.

You're listening to NPR News.

with tax filing season now open to millions of taxpayers in the U.S.

The nation's official taxpayer advocate, Aaron Collins, released a report to Congress today projecting significant challenges.

She says the Internal Revenue Service is affected by a 27 percent reduction of its workforce, reorganization of leadership, and major changes to tax laws under the GOP's tax and spending legislation.

However, the Trump administration is promising substantial refunds as a result.

Top officials are predicting a smooth tax filing season.