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Chapter 1: What funding challenges is the Department of Homeland Security facing?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. The clock is ticking for the Department of Homeland Security. One week from today, the agency is due to run out of funding. Members of Congress are in talks for a bipartisan deal to avert a shutdown. NPR's Claudia Grisales reports.
Top Democrats released a 10-point plan for DHS immigration law enforcement agents in their continuing response to the deaths of Rene Good and Alex Preddy in Minneapolis last month. In addition to agents' removal of masks... They want the mandatory use of body cameras. They want officers to adhere to uniforms with identifying information and standardized equipment and expanded training.
Democrats want to ensure officers are using judicial warrants and that basic rights are protected, such as immediate access to legal representation for those who are taken into custody and charged. But Republicans say some of these are non-starters and that could give way for another stopgap bill that kicks the can down the road for a few more weeks. Claudia Grizales, NPR News.
The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee is requesting records related to the firms partially owned by the husband of Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. It's an extraordinary step of scrutinizing the spouse of a sitting House member. Congressman James Comer of Kentucky requested records related to a pair of companies owned by Omar's husband, Timothy Minette.
Chapter 2: What are the Democrats' proposed changes to DHS immigration enforcement?
The 2026 Winter Olympics are now officially underway, and PR's Ping Huang has more on the opening ceremony in Milan's San Siro Stadium.
This one was designed by Marco Balic. So he's designed ceremonies for over a dozen Olympics, but this one was special because it was in his hometown of Milan. There were nods to opera, to neoclassical sculpture. There was a tribute to the late designer Giorgio Armani. There were models who walked down a catwalk in the colors of the Italian flag.
The whole thing was very chic, it was very elegant, and it was centered around the theme of bringing different people, different things together in harmony.
NPR's Ping Huang reporting. President Trump promised to make the U.S. the crypto capital of the world, yet Bitcoin prices have slumped since hitting a record high in October. NPR's Rafael Nam explains why.
At one point this week, Bitcoin hit around $60,000, or about half of its all-time high last year. That fall came after a month of decline. The reason is that Trump's crypto promises led to big speculation. Investors not only bought cryptos, they also borrowed heavily to magnify their wagers. That did well when prices were up.
But as soon as markets hit some volatility, that borrowing magnified losses and made investors very cautious. After all, crypto has long been known for its volatility. So even as stocks are doing well, with the Dow at a record high, Bitcoin is still down. And there's no certainty about when it might recover. Rafael Nam, NPR News. This is NPR News.
President Trump issued an executive order reopening a huge swath of the Atlantic to commercial fishing. The nearly 5,000 square mile preserve east of Cape Cod was created by former President Barack Obama. Trump rolled back protections in the area in 2020. President Joe Biden later restored them.
The president of MIT is pushing back on criticism that the world of higher education hasn't united against attacks from the Trump administration. From member station GBH in Boston, Kirk Carrapeza reports that Sally Kornbluth says part of the problem is that American colleges and universities are wildly different.
MIT was the first school to reject an offer to join the Trump administration's so-called Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. But Kornbluth says speaking with one voice across higher ed... is easier said than done.
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