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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst.
Chapter 2: What did Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reveal about his meeting with Jeffrey Epstein?
During testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee today, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admits he met with Jeffrey Epstein, visiting him on his private island for lunch with his family in 2012 after Epstein's conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child. It's a reversal of Lutnick's previous claim that he had cut ties with the late financier after 2005.
Lutnick is facing calls to resign. Top Trump administration immigration officials are testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee. As NPR's Barbara Sprott reports, the oversight hearing follows intensified public scrutiny over the way immigration enforcement agents are doing their job.
Chapter 3: What are the implications of the Senate Appropriations Committee's immigration oversight hearing?
Leaders of both ICE and Customs and Border Protection said they couldn't comment on the details of the two fatal shootings in Minneapolis that sparked widespread public outrage. But the officials committed to providing members of the committee with full reports from the investigations once they conclude.
In response to lawmakers' questions about their constituents' fears of being targeted by ICE, the agency's acting director said American citizens should not be arrested. A Senate report from December from Democrats found instances of nearly two dozen American citizens detained by federal immigration agents between last June and November.
Chapter 4: How do recent attacks affect the safety perceptions of American Jews?
Barbara Sprint, NPR News, Washington.
The FBI has released surveillance photos and videos of a person outside the house of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of NBC Today show host Savannah Guthrie, the morning after she disappeared from her home in Arizona. The photo shows a person wearing a ski mask, a backpack, gloves, and what appears to be a weapon holstered at the waist.
Meanwhile, the FBI says it hasn't identified any suspects or persons of interest in the disappearance of the 84-year-old. A new poll finds the vast majority of American Jews feel less safe due to a series of attacks against Jewish people over the past year. Empire's Jason DeRose has more.
The survey commissioned by the American Jewish Committee found that 91% of American Jews say the attacks on the Pennsylvania governor's mansion, the Capitol Jewish Museum, and a Boulder, Colorado march in support of hostages make them feel less safe. 86% said anti-Semitism has increased in the two years since the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel.
Nearly 9 in 10 said that seeing or hearing the slogan Globalize the Intifada would make them feel unsafe.
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Chapter 5: What challenges are federal student loan borrowers facing today?
The survey of more than 1,200 American Jews was performed by an independent research firm in September and October of last year. Jason DeRose, NPR News.
The National Governors Association has canceled its annual White House meeting after President Trump excluded Democrats from the White House dinner, which is traditionally a bipartisan event. And Trump personally excluded Maryland Governor Wes Moore, the only Black governor in the country. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.
New data shows that millions of federal student loan borrowers continue their slide into default, as NPR's Corey Turner reports.
The data comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and shows that in the last quarter of 2025, roughly a million federal student loan borrowers plunged into default. And researchers say they expect that number to keep growing.
Chapter 6: What issues have arisen with Olympic medals at the Winter Olympics in Italy?
Older federal data shows millions of borrowers on a downward escalator toward default, missing month after month of payments. As of the end of September, nearly 9 million borrowers were either already in default or on the last step. That's roughly one in five Americans with a federal student loan.
The Trump administration has said it won't garnish the wages of these borrowers just yet, preferring to wait until Republicans' new repayment assistance plan is available this summer. Corey Turner, NPR News.
At the Winter Olympics in Italy, an investigation is underway after four athletes reported problems with their medals breaking and falling off the ribbons. Women's downhill gold medalist American Breezy Johnson warned her fellow athletes not to jump in them. Hers broke when she did, though it was replaced quickly. It's not the first time Olympic medals have come under scrutiny.
After the 2024 Olympics in Paris, some had to be replaced because they were starting to corrode. On Wall Street, preliminary closing numbers. The Dow up 52 points at 50,188. The Nasdaq down 136 points. That's down about a half percent. The S&P 500 down 23. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.