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Chapter 1: What are the latest updates on President Trump's military mission in Iran?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. President Trump says the U.S. will finish its military mission in Iran in a few weeks. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports on Trump's first formal address to the nation since starting the war.
President Trump didn't say much that was new, repeating that Iran's military has been destroyed and promising more bombing to come. The president said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz was not America's problem, but should be dealt with by other countries that rely on it more heavily.
They are decimated. both militarily and economically and every other way. And the countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage.
Iran's closure of the strait has driven up the price of oil worldwide, and it's not clear any other country besides the U.S. could open it by force. Trump did not suggest a major ground operation is imminent, despite thousands of additional troops in or en route to the region. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
In his address, Trump did not repeat a threat to pull the U.S. out of NATO. But he did tell allies if they want Persian Gulf oil, they should go take the Strait of Hormuz away from Iran. But European allies, including Britain's prime minister, have plainly said this is not their war. They've also complained the U.S. did not consult them.
Oil markets are not reassured by Trump's words, and benchmark oil prices have climbed nearly 7 percent overnight. The Iran war is forcing business economists to downgrade their forecasts for the coming year. NPR's Scott Horsley reports on the new survey by the National Association for Business Economics.
NABE conducted its usual quarterly survey of economists at the beginning of March, then went back at the end of the month and asked forecasters how their views might have changed. Not surprisingly, four weeks of war and a resulting spike in energy prices left economists with a considerably gloomier outlook.
On average, forecasters are now projecting higher inflation and slower economic growth than they were in the early days of the war. They also expect weaker hiring. More than three-quarters of the economists surveyed now say geopolitical conflicts pose a downside risk for the economy. That's up from four months ago, when fewer than half the forecasters surveyed felt that way.
Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
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Chapter 2: How is the Iran war affecting global oil prices?
They'll fly around it, then return to Earth after about 10 days in space. You're listening to NPR. Members of a federal planning agency will meet today to hold a final vote on President Trump's planned White House ballroom. The vote is going ahead, even though a federal judge ordered a temporary stop to construction this week. The judge says Congress has to authorize this.
The planning agency can still vote on the ballroom but cannot override the judge's order. Trump officials have filed an appeal. A federal appeals court has blocked the Trump administration from overhauling federal spending on homelessness projects. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the administration has been trying to set new conditions on that aid.
Last fall, the Federal Housing Agency issued a plan to slash money for permanent housing and shift it to programs that require those seeking assistance to first work and stay sober. Housing Secretary Scott Turner said that would nudge people toward self-sufficiency. The change would have upended two decades of bipartisan federal policy.
and local aid groups warned it could push 170,000 people back into homelessness. In its latest ruling, the appeals court cites evidence that the longtime focus on permanent housing has proven effective, and it noted that Congress recently approved a budget to fund that approach.
In a statement, the housing agency HUD says the current approach is misguided and it remains committed to reforming it. Jennifer Lutton, NPR News, Washington.
The U.S. Geological Survey says there was an earthquake overnight south of San Francisco. Its magnitude was 4.9. The shallow quake was felt across the Bay Area, but there aren't any initial reports of damage or injuries. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News, in Washington.
Do you ever wish you could predict the future? Well, some scientists try to do that every year, forecasting when cherry blossom trees will bloom each spring. It's a wild guess, but there is some science involved in it. And there is a lot riding on the peak bloom forecast. Tourism, climate change models, and more.
Listen to ShoreWave on the NPR app, or wherever you get your podcasts to hear how scientists are predicting the future.
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