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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
Chapter 2: What recent actions has President Trump taken regarding TSA funding?
President Trump has signed an executive order to pay TSA agents who've been working without pay during the partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, House Republicans have rejected a Senate-passed bill to fund most of DHS through September. The revolt extends the funding impasse that is in its 42nd day and created long lines at many airports.
Republicans are angry that the Senate bill would not fund ICE and Border Patrol. Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries say they don't support funding those departments without changes to immigration enforcement.
Immigration enforcement should focus on violent felons who are in this country illegally. not target law-abiding immigrant families or brutalize and in some cases kill American citizens.
Chapter 3: How are House Republicans and Democrats responding to the DHS funding bill?
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the Senate bill the most reckless thing we've ever seen. This gambit that was done last night is a joke. I'm quite convinced that it can't be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill. Johnson says the House will instead vote today on a resolution to fund DHS at current levels until May.
Congress is about to be out on spring break until mid-April. Iran is cementing its hold over the Strait of Hormuz, demanding vessels give detailed information and in some cases pay for passage.
Chapter 4: What impact is the Iran war having on U.S. agriculture?
Meanwhile, President Trump hosted farmers at the White House today as U.S. agriculture is squeezed by the war with Iran and other Trump administration policies. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben has more.
Trump spoke flanked by three tractors, one of them painted gold. He announced he was loosening a regulation with the aim of making machinery cheaper. The administration has also announced it will increase the amount of biofuels blended into gas and diesel. Trump also urged Congress to take action.
I'm also asking Congress to quickly pass the new farm bill. And today I'm promising to request additional farm relief for our great patriots and the next funding bill.
Trump's tariffs made some farm supplies more expensive and also caused retaliation from China. Now war with Iran has pushed up both fuel and fertilizer prices.
Chapter 5: What are the latest developments regarding the U.S. stance on the Iran war?
Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News, the White House.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a softer tone about the Iran war as he met with top diplomats from G7 countries in France. Rubio said the U.S. is not asking for anybody to join the war, despite President Trump's complaints that NATO countries were not stepping up to help. Rubio says the U.S.
will seek international cooperation on a plan to keep the Strait of Hormuz open after hostilities end. U.S. stocks deepened their drops today as Wall Street finished off a fifth straight losing week, its longest such streak in nearly four years. The S&P 500 fell more than 1.5%, ending its worst week since the war with Iran began.
The Dow dropped nearly 1.75%, down 10% from its record set last month. The Nasdaq Composite sank more than 2%. This is NPR News. Authorities have arrested a New Jersey man for allegedly plotting to firebomb a pro-Palestinian activist's home. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports.
Court papers identify the defendant as Alexander Heifler. He's facing one count of unlawful possession of firearms and one count of unlawful making of firearms.
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Chapter 6: What allegations have emerged regarding a plot against a pro-Palestinian activist?
Court papers say Heifler discussed with an undercover law enforcement officer his desire to build firebombs. The two later put together eight Molotov cocktails. which Heifler allegedly said would be thrown into a certain individual's home.
Court papers don't name the individual, but a law enforcement official confirms to NPR the target of the alleged plot was pro-Palestinian activist Nardine Kaswani. In a post on X, Kaswani says the FBI has informed her that they had taken action to disrupt a plot against her life. She also says she won't stop speaking up for the Palestinian people. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
Minnesota will be the flagship of the No Kings protests tomorrow when Bruce Springsteen performs Streets of Minneapolis in a state where emotions are still raw over President Trump's immigration crackdown and the killing of two protesters by federal agents there. More than 3,000 events are planned in communities across the country. Rallies are also planned in more than a dozen other countries.
Residents of a Missouri town can finally breathe easier. According to St. Louis Public Radio, crews have removed a wrecked tractor trailer full of tofu that had been stinking up a stretch of highway in central Missouri for several weeks. The truck's load became increasingly pungent as temperatures rose.
Chapter 7: What upcoming protests are planned in response to immigration policies?
One person wrote online that it smelled like catfish bait. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.
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