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Chapter 1: What recent developments have occurred in the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Israel and Lebanon are agreeing to a 10-day ceasefire. President Trump first announced the truce on social media today. He told reporters this afternoon that the leaders of both countries are invited to Washington for talks.
Actually, it's very exciting because it's 48 years. We're going to be meeting with Bibi Netanyahu, as you know, and the president of Lebanon, And I had a great talk with both of them today. They're going to be having a ceasefire and that'll include Hezbollah.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group allied with the Iranian government. A ceasefire between Iran and the United States is set to expire next week. Pakistan is attempting to mediate a longer truce that would lead to an agreement to end a war the U.S. and Israel initiated against Iran in late February. The U.S. and Iran have had one round of talks. A second has yet to be scheduled. The U.S.
Senate again rejected a bid to block arms sales to Israel. But several Democrats who previously opposed such efforts voted in favor of the measure, citing growing concerns about the war with Iran. Here's NPR's Sam Greenglass.
36 Democrats voted to advance a measure to cancel the sale of 1,000-pound bombs. 40 Democrats, some 85% of the caucus, supported blocking the sale of bulldozers used by Israel in Lebanon and Gaza to level homes and neighborhoods. Republicans voted to block the measures.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona was among the roughly dozen Democrats who supported blocking the transfers after previously opposing similar measures. We are in a moment where we have to ask ourselves, Does this bring us closer to peace and security?
A March Pew survey found that a majority of respondents, some 60%, reported an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 42% in 2022 when a majority had a favorable view. Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington.
Some federal employees say the Trump administration is blocking their work against housing discrimination and violating civil rights law. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports a union that represents them has launched a website with anonymous letters that begin with Dear America.
The letters express concern about cases they say investigators have been forced to drop. They also describe a culture of fear that's keeping them anonymous. Last year, HUD fired fair housing whistleblower Paul Osadebe, a civil rights lawyer and union steward who helped put out these letters.
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Chapter 2: How are U.S. arms sales to Israel being debated in Congress?
That's plus.npr.org.