Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
Chapter 2: What updates are there on the Jeffrey Epstein investigation?
The Department of Justice is releasing millions of pages related to the criminal investigation and death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch says the DOJ is now in compliance with the law to release all the files after the Justice Department missed a December deadline. In a news conference today, Blanch said the DOJ did not shield President Trump.
There's this mantra out there that, oh, you know, the Department of Justice is supposed to protect Donald J. Trump. And that's what we were telling. That's not true. That was never the case.
Trump said he would cut ties with Epstein or he had cut ties with Epstein after the financier hired away female Mar-a-Lago resort staffers. He denies any knowledge of Epstein's sex crimes. The president has nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve chair. U.S.
Senator Tom Tillis holds a critical vote on the Senate Banking Committee that will determine whether to advance Warsh's nomination. Today, Trump responded after Tillis doubled down on his pledge not to vote in favor of Trump's nominee until the Justice Department resolves its criminal investigation into the current Fed chair, Jerome Powell.
If he doesn't approve, we'll just have to wait till somebody comes in that will approve it, right?
Trump has publicly disparaged Powell and the Fed for failing to more aggressively lower interest rates. Powell and his predecessors have pushed back in defense of maintaining the Fed's independence from political influence. The U.S. is pressing ahead with a military buildup that would allow for a new round of strikes against Iran. Meanwhile, Iran says that if attacked, it will hit hard at U.S.
interests in the Middle East. NPR's Greg Myrie looks at the possible showdown.
The U.S. military now has an aircraft carrier, additional ships and dozens of warplanes within striking distance of Iran. President Trump remains noncommittal about whether he'll order an attack. But speaking of Iran, he said, quote, We'll see what happens. I can say this. They do want to make a deal. However, Iran's foreign minister says his country won't negotiate while it's being threatened.
Iran has an arsenal of ballistic missiles and says that if attacked, it will strike U.S. targets in the region. The U.S. and Israel bombed Iran's nuclear facilities for 12 days last June. Trump is not saying what the U.S. might hit in a future attack. Greg Myhre, NPR News, Washington.
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Chapter 3: How is the Federal Reserve nomination process impacting the economy?
Vonn, who is 41 years old, was hoping to make an Olympic comeback this year after coming out of retirement. The crash could put that in jeopardy. NPR's Becky Sullivan has details.
Vaughn was the third person to crash in the downhill race at Cron Montana, a resort in Switzerland. She lost control after a jump and skidded into the sideline nets. Injuries had forced her to retire back in 2019. Her 82 World Cup wins were then the most for any female skier. Since then, she got a new titanium knee and started training again. Her comeback has been astonishingly successful.
This winter, she's won two World Cup races and reached the podium in five others, but the Olympics were always the goal. Now that's in doubt. After the crash, Vaughn was able to ski to the finish line herself, seen holding her left knee. Then she was airlifted off the course for further evaluation. The Olympic downhill race is just over a week away. Becky Sullivan in PR News.
U.S. stocks have ended the day lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 180 points to win the day at 48,892. The S&P was down 29 points and the Nasdaq was down 223 points, nearly 1%. You're listening to NPR News.