Chapter 1: What subpoenas did the Justice Department issue to Minnesota officials?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the state's Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry. As NPR's Meg Anderson reports, the Trump administration claims the Democratic officials are getting in the way of the federal immigration crackdown in the state.
In a statement, Mayor Fry accuses the federal government of weaponizing its power in order to try to intimidate local leaders. He says, quote, State Attorney General Ellison points out that the subpoena came shortly after his office sued the Trump administration over aggressive immigration enforcement tactics in the state.
He says, quote, The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. Meg Anderson, NPR News.
On the campaign trail, President Trump promised to cut Americans' energy bills in half. One year after his inauguration, gasoline is cheaper, but electricity costs have gone up. NPR's Camilla Dominovsky reports.
Gasoline prices are down about 10 percent from a year ago. Market forces drive prices, but cheaper crude has been a major focus for President Trump.
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Chapter 2: How have energy prices changed since President Trump's inauguration?
The cost of electricity, on the other hand, is rising. Charles Hua founded Powerlines, a consumer education nonprofit.
I think the issue of utility affordability has now very much become a crisis and a political crisis at that
Hua says cutting electricity costs has not seemed to be a policy priority for the White House. However, Trump is now talking about making AI data centers pay more for power, which could be an opportunity to help consumers. Camila Dominovsky, NPR News.
The U.S. Postal Service is starting to take bids from businesses for one of its key package delivery services. NPR's Hansila Wong reports.
The U.S. Postal Service has usually prioritized big businesses like Amazon when offering special rates for delivering packages nationwide to their final destinations. But the mailing agency is now accepting bids from smaller businesses, too, for access to what USPS calls its last mile network.
The move comes after Postmaster General David Steiner warned the agency's financial situation is unsustainable. USPS generally receives no tax dollars and relies on shipping and stamp fees to keep running. In the past fiscal year, the Postal Service had a net loss of $9 billion. USPS says it's now trying to boost revenue by taking bids from both large and small businesses.
Some shipping industry experts say the move could push bigger shippers to stop relying on USPS, and that could further destabilize the agency. Anzila Wong, NPR News.
Stocks sank on Wall Street today after President Trump threatened to hit European countries with new tariffs over his attempts to take over Greenland. The S&P 500 fell more than 2 percent. The Dow dropped more than 1.7 percent. The Nasdaq slid nearly 2.4 percent. This is NPR.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia has launched more than 300 drones and missiles in a nighttime attack on Ukraine's power grid. The assault knocked out heating to more than 5,600 apartment buildings in Kyiv. Ukraine is facing one of its coldest winters, with temperatures dropping below zero. Netflix has sweetened its offer to take over most of Warner Bros. Discovery.
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