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Chapter 1: What happened in El Paso regarding the airspace closure?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Federal Aviation Administration says the airspace around El Paso, Texas has reopened. NPR's Joel Rose reports the decision to close that airspace overnight had to do with drones, but the details are disputed.
The FAA abruptly shut down the airspace around El Paso late last night for, quote, special security reasons. But hours later, the agency lifted the restrictions, which were originally supposed to last for 10 days, saying there is no threat to commercial aviation. In a social media post, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the U.S.
military had acted swiftly to address an incursion by a drone operated by a Mexican drug cartel. But a source on Capitol Hill who has spoken to the FAA and was not authorized to speak publicly says it was the Defense Department that deployed counter-drone technology before the FAA had completed its safety assessment. The mayor of El Paso says the result was chaos on the ground.
Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington.
Chapter 2: What are the implications of the grand jury's decision for U.S. senators?
Democratic U.S. senators are speaking out after a grand jury in Washington, D.C. rejected federal prosecutors' efforts to indict them and others over a video they released. One of the targeted lawmakers is Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Federal prosecutors went to a grand jury to seek criminal charges against members of the United States Senate for something we said wrong. They tried to have us charged and thrown into jail because we said something that they didn't like.
Kelly appeared with Senator Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan. They were part of a group that recently released a video advising members of the U.S. military not to follow unlawful orders. The video drew swift rebukes from President Trump, who called their action treasonous.
Chapter 3: How is Ukraine responding to recent Russian drone attacks?
Ukrainian authorities say a Russian attack almost killed an entire family, including three children. Dozens of people have been wounded in drone attacks against Ukraine over the past day. NPR's Eleonora Beardsley reports the attacks come as diplomatic activity intensifies to end the war with trilateral talks involving Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia.
Ukraine says its air defenses intercepted 112 drones, but at least 15 made it through, striking several locations. In Kharkiv Oblast, a Russian strike on a home killed a father and his three toddlers. Their pregnant mother was injured.
Writing on X, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that each Russian strike, quote, undermines trust in everything being done diplomatically to end this war and proves that only strong pressure on Russia and clear security guarantees for Ukraine can stop the killings. He said nothing else works. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv.
Chapter 4: What does the new study reveal about baby food safety?
From Washington, this is NPR News. A new study finds 71% of tested baby foods are ultra-processed, also known as UPFs. All contain additives and are high in sugars and salt. According to the findings published in Nutrients, flavor enhancers, thickeners, emulsifiers, and colors were the most common UPF marker additives present in the products commercially available for infants.
There's mounting research that links additives to disruptions in the health of the gut, inflammation, and illness. A researcher in Texas says he has found a way to reduce toxins in cotton seeds, which are rich in protein but inedible to most animals. Michael Marks with Harvest Public Media has details.
Texas A&M University professor Kirti Rathore has developed a technique to reduce the toxicity of cotton seeds, which could create a new protein source for chicken, fish, and even people.
And if you could utilize that protein directly for human nutrition, you could meet the basic protein requirements of 500 million people. That's a lot of protein.
Chapter 5: How is a Texas researcher addressing cotton seed toxicity?
But despite many meetings, Rathore hasn't found a company yet that will market the seeds. He says they're concerned about profitability. Now he's trying to give the seeds to cotton-growing countries across the world to prove their viability. Officials in Uzbekistan will be the first to give the modified seeds to their farmers. For NPR News, I'm Michael Marks.
U.S. stocks are mixed this hour. The Dow is now down 94 points at 50,093. The S&P is up 5. NASDAQ is off 13 points.
Chapter 6: What are the current trends in U.S. stock markets?
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