Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
Chapter 2: What investigation is the Justice Department opening regarding Jerome Powell?
The Justice Department is opening a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments to Congress about renovations of the Fed's headquarters. This as the Trump administration has been pressuring the central bank to make bigger interest rate cuts. Here's NPR's Barbara Spratt.
As lawmakers return to D.C., they're reacting to this latest escalation against the Fed chair. Democrat Senator Dick Durbin said it's another example of President Trump trying to weaponize the government against opponents of his agenda.
GOP Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina said it's the independence and credibility of the Justice Department that's in question and said he'll oppose the confirmation of any nominee for the Fed until the legal matter is resolved. Republican Congressman French Hill of Arkansas praised Powell as a man of integrity and said that pursuing criminal charges creates an unnecessary distraction.
Barbara Sprint and PR News, Washington.
U.S. Senator Mark Kelly suing to block the Pentagon from censuring him after the Democrat and other lawmakers told service members in a video message to defy illegal orders. Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hexeth censured Kelly, a process that could cost Kelly his retired rank of captain and reduce his retirement pay. Iran says it's willing to negotiate but is also ready to fight.
As White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt describes it, the U.S.
also prefers diplomacy but... The president has shown he's unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary, and nobody knows that better than Iran.
A human rights group says the Iranian government crackdown on mass protests has cost more than 500 lives since the demonstrations began late last month. Immigration agents are going door to door in some Minneapolis neighborhoods. NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran reports heavy enforcement activity in the area today.
There are more than 2,000 immigration agents here. And you can see them driving in unmarked cars. You can also see residents following them and alerting the community that ICE is around. I have witnessed some of these operations. In one of them, immigration agents stopped at a parking lot and asked people charging their electric cars for proof of immigration status.
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