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Chapter 1: What recent developments occurred in U.S.-Iran peace talks?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Libby Casey. Vice President J.D. Vance's planned trip for peace talks with Iran has been delayed. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports Vance is instead attending policy meetings at the White House.
Vance was expected to have left already for Pakistan to participate in a new round of negotiations with the Iranians. Vance did not leave, and a White House official confirmed that he arrived at the White House for internal meetings. The deadline to reach a deal is rapidly approaching, at which point the agreed-upon ceasefire is expected to expire.
The Pakistanis who have facilitated the talks say the Iranians have not yet agreed to attend negotiations in Islamabad. Vance and his team are unlikely to travel if the Iranians do not. President Trump told CNBC he does not want to extend the ceasefire and warned that the U.S.
Chapter 2: How is the Federal Reserve nominee addressing concerns from senators?
is prepared to resume military action. Franco, Ordonez, NPR News, the White House.
President Trump's nominee to chair the Federal Reserve tried to reassure senators today that he would be independent from the White House when it comes to setting monetary policy. Kevin Warsh went before the Senate Banking Committee today and faced questions from Democrats about Trump's past comments that his nominee would lower interest rates.
North Carolina Republican Senator Tom Tillis has threatened to hold up Warsh's confirmation until the Justice Department drops an investigation into the Fed and its current chair, Jerome Powell.
We had some US attorney with a dream or assistant US attorney thinking it would be cute to bring Chair Powell under an investigation just a few months before the position was going to be open. Let's get rid of this investigation so I can support your confirmation.
Powell's term ends on May 15. The Southern Poverty Law Center says it's being targeted by the Trump administration.
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Chapter 3: What challenges is the Southern Poverty Law Center facing from the government?
NPR's Debbie Elliott reports the civil rights group says it's the focus of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
Interim CEO Brian Fair says the Southern Poverty Law Center and some of its employees face possible criminal charges. In a recorded video release, he says... the federal probe appears to focus on the prior use of paid confidential informants to infiltrate extremist groups, and that the intelligence gathered was frequently shared with law enforcement, including the FBI.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to NPR's inquiry. Some Republicans accused the center of unfairly labeling right-wing groups as extremists. The SPLC is vowing to, quote, vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work at a time when it says the federal government has been weaponized to dismantle civil rights. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.
The stock market is down this afternoon amid questions about the future of U.S.-Iran peace talks and the approaching end of the two-week ceasefire. This is NPR News.
Chapter 4: How are prediction market companies influencing Washington lobbying?
House Florida Democrat Sheila Scherfelis-McCormick has announced she is resigning from Congress. Her resignation came today shortly before the House Ethics Committee was meeting about a possible punishment for her. Scherfelis-McCormick was indicted by the Justice Department last November on charges of stealing $5 million in federal disaster funds and using some of that money on her campaign.
The third-term Democrat was facing an expulsion vote from the House on Wednesday. Sheriff Alyssa McCormick called the House Ethics Committee process a, quote, witch hunt. Prediction market companies are spending millions of dollars on Washington lobbying. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, it comes as lawmakers grow increasingly concerned about insider trading and manipulation on the popular sites.
Kelshi and Polymarket have spent nearly $2 million on lobbying in the first quarter, a sharp increase from last year. The sites see billions of dollars in weekly bets on things like White House policy, the words of the president, military strikes, and war.
A growing chorus of lawmakers denounce the apps as a dangerous form of gambling, but Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour tells NPR it's no different than the stock market.
Chapter 5: What trends are emerging in retail spending this March?
Critics oftentimes claim this is gambling, and I always say this, speculation matters. is not equal to gambling. Because if speculation is equal to gambling, then our entire financial market is gambling.
Donald Trump Jr. is an advisor to both companies, and Trump's regulators have sued states to defend the company's right to exist. Bobby Allen, NPR News.
Shoppers accelerated their spending in March from February, but they spent a good chunk of their money at the gas pump. Retail sales jumped 1.7 percent last month. It's NPR.
This week on Consider This, RFK Jr.
Chapter 6: What controversial recovery program is RFK Jr. advocating for?
has praised an Italian addiction program where people who use street drugs live in a network of government-run farm and work camps. The focus is abstinence. This is very hard to answer without getting angry. We know that abstinence-based programs fail over and over again. The health secretary's controversial vision for recovery, this week on Consider This from NPR.