NPR News: 06-29-2026 4PM EDT
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The U.S. Supreme Court is out with new decisions that directly affect the extent of the president's powers. Today, the high court said Lisa Cook can keep her job as a member of the Federal Reserve's governing board, at least for now. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the decision is a setback for President Trump.
What recent Supreme Court decisions impact presidential powers?
In a 5-4 ruling, the high court said the president failed to give Lisa Cook due process when he tried to fire her from the Fed board. The attempted dismissal was part of a broader campaign by the president to bend the central bank to his will in hopes of forcing lower interest rates. While the decision was made on narrow procedural grounds, Chief Justice Roberts wrote, the Fed was deliberately designed to be insulated from political pressure to help prevent the kind of economic panics that were common before the central bank was established. That carve-out for the Fed is in contrast to the Supreme Court's general direction of giving the White House greater control over agencies that were once considered independent.
The high court ruled 6-3 today. The president can fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, reversing a precedent that has stood for nearly a century. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
In a GOP setback, the high court upheld a Mississippi law allowing election officials to count mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to five days later. And in a case over geofencing, the court is restricting use of the new law enforcement technique that allows police to tap into giant tech firm databases. to see who was near the scene of a crime. The official death toll in Venezuela is now up to 1,719 from two powerful earthquakes five days ago. NPR's Ada Peralta reports on rescue operations in Caracas.
How did the Supreme Court rule on Lisa Cook's position at the Federal Reserve?
Overnight, rescue crews did manage to extract one person with life, but they are now digging through rubble for a fifth day, and the chances of finding people alive is diminishing. Jorge Rodriguez, the president of the National Assembly, said more than 5,000 people were injured and that 855 buildings had been damaged. 189 of them were completely collapsed. The government says they've opened shelters, but on the streets of Caracas, the displaced are sleeping on sidewalks and in parks. Eder Peralta, NPR News, Caracas.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a possible collision between a passenger jet and a drone. NPR's Joel Rose has a JetBlue Flight report of the collision this morning.
JetBlue Flight 948 was preparing to land at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York when the pilot told air traffic control about the incident. In this archived audio recording from the website liveatc.net.
We collided with a drone back there in the turn. I just wanted to pass that to you.
You said you collided?
Yep. It hit us right above
The JetBlue pilot said the collision occurred around 7.15 a.m. as the flight from Las Vegas was on its final approach to JFK, about 3,000 feet above the ground. The plane landed safely. The FAA says there was no damage to the aircraft, but an investigation is underway. Joel Rose, NPR News.
This is NPR. This afternoon, global oil prices are hovering around $70 a barrel at pre-war levels, but have risen as traders watch to see if the latest pause in fighting between the U.S. and Iran holds. U.S. Central Command has confirmed fighter jets attacked 10 Iranian military targets in retaliation for an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Changes are coming to the federal student loan system this week. NPR's Corey Turner explains.
The changes come courtesy of last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and kick in Wednesday, July 1st. Among them, Republicans created two new repayment plans, and they'll be the only options for new borrowers. The Biden-era SAVE plan is also being shut down. The millions of current borrowers still in SAVE will need to choose another plan, or they'll be automatically moved into what is arguably the least flexible option. There will also be a big change for graduate students.
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