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Chapter 1: What recent developments occurred during Defense Secretary Hegseth's trip to the Middle East?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an undisclosed trip to the Middle East to visit U.S. troops. He discussed his visit during a news conference at the Pentagon. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports Hegseth claims regime change has been achieved in Iran.
Hegseth visited troops over the weekend. He said morale was high and the U.S. is rapidly building bunkers to protect troops and aircraft from Iranian strikes. Hegseth echoed President Trump's claim that Iran's new leadership is now more moderate. Many Iran experts believe it's more hardline. Hegseth said opening the Strait of Hormuz and rocketing worldwide oil prices are not America's problem.
Countries around the world... who ought to be prepared to step up on this critical waterway as well. It's not just the United States Navy.
He said the Trump administration prefers a negotiated settlement but would not rule out using ground troops. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
The White House says President Trump will deliver a public address at 9 o'clock Eastern tomorrow night to discuss the war. Three fired FBI agents are suing to get their jobs back. The former agents say they were targeted for investigating President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. by three former FBI agents, Michelle Ball, Jamie Garman, and Blair Tolman, who are Bureau veterans with years of experience. They were fired last year as part of what the lawsuit calls a retribution campaign against FBI employees who worked on Trump investigations.
The suit is the latest to be filed by fired FBI agents, but this one could have a broader impact because it is seeking to represent a proposed class of at least 50 FBI employees who have been fired under the Trump administration for what the lawsuit says are similarly improper reasons. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
Wall Street rallied today as investors hoped for an end to the war in Iran and the resulting energy crisis. As NPR's Maria Aspin reports, the Dow surged 2.5 percent, the S&P 500 rose nearly 3 percent, and the Nasdaq soared more than 3.75 percent.
It was Wall Street's best day since last May, and it ended March on an unexpected high note for investors. They've spent the month worried about how badly the war and its shock to oil prices will damage the wider economy. Regular gas now costs, on average, more than $4 per gallon. And everything else could soon be more expensive, too. Tech investors have been particularly rattled.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of the lawsuit filed by fired FBI agents?
You got to be able to show what an alternative looks like. That's this week on NPR's Newsmakers. Listen or watch the program on NPR's YouTube channel.