Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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President Trump met with his budget director, Russ Vogt, Thursday to discuss spending cuts that would affect Democrats. In a post on social media, Trump said he and Vogt were going to determine how many so-called Democratic agencies to cut. Here's White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt.
We're going to look at agencies that don't align with the administration's values, that we feel are a waste of the taxpayer dollar. And look, unfortunately, these conversations are happening because we don't have any money coming into the federal government right now. Levitt says the partial government shutdown is likely to result in thousands of layoffs.
Republicans and Democrats are blaming each other for the shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffrey says Democrats are not budging on their demand for an extension of health care tax credits expiring in December. Of course we're not losing that messaging battle, and the reason why we know we're not won, they're lying, and they're lying because they're losing.
There's nothing that Democrats have suggested in any way, shape, or form that is designed to provide health care to undocumented immigrants. Jeffrey says Democrats have not heard from the White House since the shutdown began. The heads of the Pentagon and Defense Department traveled to Memphis Thursday to witness the federal crackdown on crime there. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf has the story.
Speaking in front of both state and federal law enforcement, as well as members of the National Guard, Defense Secretary Hagseth said they had his support, as well as that of President Trump. We're not here to second guess you. We're here to have your back, to unleash you, to do your job so you come home safely.
Trump announced the federal task force to fight crime in the city, which is one of the highest violent crime rates in the country, although those numbers have been declining recently.
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Chapter 2: What recent actions did President Trump take regarding government spending cuts?
Officials from more than a dozen federal agencies are out on the streets, and city leaders say National Guard troops are expected within the next two weeks. Democratic Memphis Mayor Paul Young, while unhappy about the deployment, has largely been conciliatory. Kat Lonsdorff, NPR News, Memphis.
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is urging Israel to release three South Africans detained after a flotilla of aid ships was intercepted. One of the detainees is the grandson of former President Nelson Mandela. Kate Bartlett has more from Johannesburg. Late South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was a firm supporter of the Palestinian cause.
His grandson, Mandela Mandela, has taken up that mantle and has been advocating an end to the war in Gaza. On Wednesday night, he was among those detained on the flotilla, which also included activist Greta Thunberg. Ramaphosa called the blocking of the flotilla a, quote, grave offence. The South African government is pursuing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
For NPR News, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street following Thursday's gains. The Dow Jones Industrials added 78 points. The Nasdaq rose 88 points. The S&P rose 4. This is NPR. The Energy Department is cancelling billions of dollars in funding for hundreds of projects that the agency says did not adequately advance the nation's needs.
The department says a quarter of some 321 projects were approved in the final days of the Biden administration. The founding pastor of a Texas megachurch has pleaded guilty to five counts of child sexual abuse. As KERA's Penelope Rivera reports, the allegations date back to the 1980s. Robert Morris started Gateway Church in 2000 and built it into one of the largest congregations in the country.
Following his guilty plea, he was given a 10-year sentence but will only serve six months in jail in Oklahoma, where the abuse took place. He will also be required to register as a lifetime sex offender and pay $270,000 to the victim, Cindy Clemishire. Clemshire went public about the abuse she endured for Morris in June of 2024.
Since then, Gateway has faced a drop in attendance and donations and multiple lawsuits. Clemshire said the abuse started when she was 12 and lasted more than four years. For NPR News, I'm Penelope Rivera in Dallas. Federal health officials have approved another generic version of the abortion pill Mifepristone. The move has outraged activists who are seeking a safety review of that drug.
The group Students for Life calls the approval of another version of Mifepristone a stain on the Trump administration. A spokesperson for the Food and Drug Administration says the agency has only limited say in the approval of generic drugs and does not endorse any product. This is NPR News.
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