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Chapter 1: What recent actions has the Justice Department taken regarding the anti-weaponization fund?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. The Justice Department says it will abide by a federal court order that temporarily pauses the administration's nearly $1.8 billion fund of people who claim they were targets of politicized prosecutions. The fund has come under sharp criticism from both parties. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports.
The so-called anti-weaponization fund has been on hold since a federal judge temporarily blocked it last week. in response to a lawsuit challenging the fund's creation. The order barred the Justice Department from taking any action to create the fund, transfer money into it, consider claims, or make payments out of it.
The pause is necessary to give the court time to hear from both sides on the legal arguments. Now, the Justice Department says in a statement that it strongly disagrees with the court order, but it says it will abide by it.
The Trump administration continues to face intense and even bipartisan blowback from lawmakers over the fund, including over the possibility that Capitol rioters who attacked police could receive payments from it.
Chapter 2: What are the implications of President Trump's statements on Israel and Hezbollah?
Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
President Trump says Israel and Hezbollah plan to de-escalate their fight in southern Lebanon. Trump says he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. NPR's Deepa Shivaram has more.
Netanyahu had ordered Israeli troops to target areas surrounding Beirut. But now, Trump says after his call with Netanyahu, there will be no troops going to Beirut and that any Israeli troops on their way, quote, have already been turned back. Trump says he also spoke with representatives from Hezbollah.
Israel's increased aggression against Lebanon, which violates the ceasefire agreed on weeks ago, has complicated ongoing talks to end the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran. Iran pulled out of negotiations after Israel's attacks on Beirut.
Chapter 3: Why are Kenyans protesting the U.S. Ebola quarantine facility plans?
Trump says the talks are continuing with Iran, though, and moving at what he calls a, quote, rapid pace. Deepa Shivaram, NPR News.
Hundreds of people took to the streets in Kenya today protesting U.S. plans to set up an Ebola quarantine facility. Michael Koloke has more.
Protests were witnessed in the central town of Nanyuki, with local media showing police engaging demonstrators in running battles. Many businesses remain closed. Protesters called on the Kenyan government to block the United States from setting up an Ebola quarantine center at an Air Force base located in the area. The White House had said last week that the U.S.
was establishing a facility in Kenya.
Chapter 4: What updates are there on Wall Street's market performance today?
where Americans who had been exposed to Ebola would be quarantined, adding that those exhibiting symptoms of the disease would be moved to a third country. A Kenyan court later temporarily suspended those plans. For NPR News, I'm Michael Kaluki in Nairobi.
Wall Street closed higher Monday. The S&P added 19 points to close at 7,599. The Dow added 46. The Nasdaq added 14 points. So far for the year, all of the indexes are in positive territory. This is NPR. NASA Administrator Jarek Isaacson said it may be until 2028 before the Cape Canaveral launch pad that was badly damaged last week in the Blue Origin rocket explosion is repaired and ready to use.
Chapter 5: What challenges is NASA facing with the Cape Canaveral launch pad repairs?
In an interview on CNBC, he said the repairs will, quote, take some serious time. Blue Origin has only one launch pad at the Florida Space Facility. Researchers are beginning to understand how the brain identifies individual words in spoken sentences. NPR's John Hamilton reports.
When we listen to a familiar language, we hear words. But Dr. Eddie Chang of the University of California, San Francisco, says it's different when the language is unfamiliar. One of the reasons why a foreign language sounds so fast is that you can't hear the pauses between words. Because there aren't many. When we speak, one word just bumps into the next.
So Chang's team studied brain activity as people listened to different languages.
Chapter 6: How is research advancing our understanding of word recognition in the brain?
When it was the person's mother tongue, the brain produced a special signal between each word. But in an unfamiliar language, that signal disappeared. The findings suggest that the brain creates its own punctuation to help extract words from speech. John Hamilton, NPR News.
Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Edelman, who's the 10th winningest coach in NBA history, has died at the age of 79. He coached five teams in the NBA and had 1,042 wins and took the Portland Trailblazers to the NBA Finals twice. He coached Sacramento, Houston, Minnesota, and the Golden State Warriors. He also played in the NBA for six years. This is NPR.
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