Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst. The Pentagon has placed 1,500 active duty soldiers on standby for possible deployment to Minnesota, NPR has confirmed. This comes as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz mobilized the state's National Guard yesterday to help local law enforcement if needed. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf has more.
That official tells NPR that the troops will be coming from Alaska, where they specialize in cold weather operations.
Chapter 2: What is the current situation with the National Guard in Minnesota?
It's very cold in Minneapolis right now. Those troops have been placed on prepare-to-deploy orders in case the situation here escalates. NPR reached out to the Pentagon to confirm. Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said, quote, President Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act last week.
But the situation on the ground has been relatively quiet the past few days, and local leaders have urged calm. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Minneapolis.
President Trump is inviting world leaders to join the Board of Peace, a new body that will help rehabilitate Gaza after the war. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports he's seeking broad international powers for the board and billions of dollars from countries that join it.
The United Nations Security Council officially sanctioned the new Board of Peace to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. But Gaza is not mentioned once in the charter of the new Board of Peace that President Trump will head. NPR has obtained a copy of the charter being distributed.
Trump seeks a broad mandate to secure peace in conflict zones, suggesting Trump may wish to use it as a kind of alternative UN to handle other world conflicts in addition to Gaza. The charter appears to criticize the United Nations by calling for, quote, a more nimble and effective international peace-building body.
The document says permanent member countries must donate at least $1 billion each, and Trump would have broad powers as chairman. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
On Wall Street, it will be a shortened holiday trading week with earnings the highlight. NPR's Maria Aspin has more.
U.S. Bank, Fifth Third, and other regional lenders are among the banks reporting earnings. Their bigger rivals say customers are generally, quote, in great shape. So investors are hoping for more signs that consumers are shrugging off inflation and job market uncertainty. But there's another cloud hanging over lenders. President Trump's proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates.
Bankers hate the idea. And car giant Capital One will likely also weigh in as it reports earnings. Other big companies to watch include United Airlines, Intel, which is now partly owned by the U.S. government, and Netflix, which is fighting paramount to buy Warner Brothers. Maria Aspen, NPR News.
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