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Chapter 1: What economic indicators are highlighted in today's news?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corova Coleman. The Commerce Department says the U.S. gross domestic product grew 2 percent between January and March of this year. That's quarterly growth about half a percent stronger than in the last quarter of last year. Consumer spending is a highlight in this latest report. but the outlook is more uncertain after the war in Iran began.
Prices are more expensive now, especially for gas. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning, and the war in Iran is expected to be the main topic. Yesterday, Hegseth spoke to a House panel and said the biggest adversary the U.S. faces is not Iran's military, but the defeatist words of Democrats and some Republican lawmakers.
Officials say the initial cost of the war is $25 billion, but skeptics say that's too low. President Trump held a rare phone call yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. NPR's Charles Means reports Russia says the talks focused heavily on current global conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.
According to Kremlin adviser Yuri Shikov, Putin weighed in on the U.S. and Israel's war against Russia's ally Iran. saying he supported Trump's recent decision to prolong a ceasefire with Tehran. Yet that Russian advice did not apply closer to home.
After Trump suggested a deal to end the war in Ukraine was within reach, Putin insisted Kyiv was prolonging the conflict by failing to accept Russian territorial demands. Putin did propose a temporary ceasefire when both Russia and Ukraine hold events commemorating the end of World War II in early May.
Yet Putin said Russian troops would ultimately achieve their objectives in Ukraine, a position Putin has held since he ordered the full-scale invasion more than four years ago. Charles Mainz, NPR News.
Iran's Supreme Leader has issued a written statement today. Majdabah Khamenei says Iran will protect its nuclear and missile capabilities. The U.S. Supreme Court has reinterpreted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.
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Chapter 2: How is the war in Iran affecting U.S. defense strategy?
It says Louisiana's congressional map is unconstitutional because part of it was redrawn for racial reasons. This could have implications for some majority black districts in the South, but NPR's Sam Greenglass reports... The effect on this year's midterm elections isn't clear.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act resulted in the creation of more than a dozen protected majority Black districts in the South. In ruling Louisiana's congressional map an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, the court opened the door for GOP-led states to eliminate districts drawn to be majority Black. Terri Sewell is a Democratic congresswoman from Alabama.
It will pave the way for the greatest reduction in representation for Black and minority voters since the years following Reconstruction.
Some Republicans are calling on legislatures to pass new maps now, but that will be tricky given that primaries are soon in some states. Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington.
You're listening to NPR. A federal appeals court has denied to rehear an appeal by President Trump. Trump can now appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court claiming presidential immunity. Trump is supposed to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83 million in defamation for calling her a liar. In a separate case, a different jury found Trump liable for sexual assault against Carroll.
A grand jury in New Orleans has indicted the sheriff of Orleans Parish on 30 counts. Sheriff Susan Hudson is accused of mismanagement in connection with a brazen jailbreak last year. Ten inmates broke out of a city jail behind a wall in a bathroom toilet. They left graffiti behind mocking the ease of their escape. All were eventually caught.
A London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita is coming to New York. Jeff London reports.
The production, directed by Jamie Lloyd, who similarly reconceived Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard, was a smash hit in London. Rachel Ziegler picked up an Olivier for her portrayal of Eva Peron and sang Don't Cry for Me, Argentina outside on a theater balcony to passers-by below with the audience watching on a big screen inside.
That won't be happening in New York for practical and safety considerations. Lloyd promises he's excited to explore a new staging idea for Broadway. No date or theater has been announced. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York.
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