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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stephens. The U.S.
Chapter 2: What arguments are presented regarding President Trump's tariff authority?
Supreme Court has heard arguments over President Trump's authority to impose sweeping tariffs without input from Congress. Three conservatives on the court questioned whether Trump can use an emergency law to set and change import taxes. Here's Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Congress, as a practical matter, can't get this power back once it's handed it over. The president's a one-way ratchet toward the gradual but continual accretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people's elected representatives.
Justice John Roberts says the Trump taxes, Trump terrorists impose taxes on American citizens, which is the constitutional duty of Congress. The case is seen as a major test of Trump's political agenda. Millions of government contractors are caught up in the ongoing shutdown. Unlike federal workers, they are not guaranteed back pay when it's over.
NPR's Windsor Johnston reports that industry leaders are warning that small companies are running out of money.
About 4 million people work for companies that contract with the federal government. Stephanie Sanic-Costro of the Professional Services Council says not all are furloughed, but many are feeling the strain.
Currently, none of the government contractors will receive back pay due to the shutdown. Federal law was passed to compensate federal employees. There is no similar legislation providing back pay compensation to federal contractors.
Castro says the hardest-hit sectors are civilian agencies like Health and Human Services... where projects are stalled and small firms are burning through savings. Economists say losses from the shutdown in 2019 topped $3 billion. Windsor Johnston, NPR News, Washington.
Beginning Friday, the FAA plans to reduce air traffic by 10 percent at 40 busy airports if the shutdown drags on. FAA Administrator Brian Bedford says the agency will not wait for a crisis before taking action. President Trump is re-nominating billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman to head NASA. NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boyce has more.
Jared Isaacman is a wealthy entrepreneur who's been to space twice in capsules operated by SpaceX, the company run by Elon Musk. Isaacman is the first private citizen to ever go on a spacewalk. When President Trump previously withdrew Isaacman's nomination, he said at the time he had concerns about Isaacman's political leanings.
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Chapter 3: How is the government shutdown affecting contractors and small businesses?
The Central Philippines is under a state of emergency declaration as cleanup from a deadly storm gets underway. Typhoon Kaumegi has left at least 114 people dead and more than 120 others missing. Thousands more have been displaced. Flash flooding and mudslides have inundated whole towns in heavily populated Cebu province, an area still recovering from a major earthquake in September.
The storm is now heading towards Vietnam. This is NPR News.