--:-- Windsor Johnston: This message comes from Capital One with the Venture X-Card. Earn unlimited double miles on everything you buy. Plus, get premium benefits at a collection of hotels when booking through Capital One Travel. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. Details at CapitalOne.com.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth delivered remarks to senior military commanders outside of Washington, D.C. today.
--:-- Joe Hernandez: NPR's Joe Hernandez reports Hegseth announced a major shift in mission, telling leaders the Pentagon's new exclusive focus would be warfighting.
--:-- Joe Hernandez: Hegseth has made a warrior ethos central to his view of the military, and he reiterated that message, telling top generals and admirals that the newly renamed Department of War had lost its way and become woke.
--:-- Joe Hernandez: He added, to ensure peace, we must prepare for war.
--:-- Joe Hernandez: Hegseth summoned top U.S. military commanders from around the world for the unusual meeting in Quantico, Virginia, made even more unusual by the presence of President Trump.
--:-- Joe Hernandez: The defense secretary has called for reducing by about 20 percent the number of admirals and generals who stand at more than 800.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Former National Park superintendents are warning against President Trump's push to keep parks open in the event of a government shutdown.
--:-- Sarah Wright: Sarah Wright from member station KQED reports.
--:-- Sarah Wright: More than 40 former National Parks leaders signed a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding the Trump administration close national parks if the government does shut down.
--:-- Bill Wade: Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers, says without workers, parks are at risk of being vandalized, like in 2019 when visitors to Joshua Tree National Park illegally chopped down trees and littered the park.
--:-- Bill Wade: If people know that there's a lot less staff, it just encourages some people to behave in ways that they wouldn't if the full staff was there.
--:-- Bill Wade: Wade says it could also put visitors at risk with slower rescues if someone is hurt or lost.
--:-- Sarah Wright: For NPR News, I'm Sarah Wright in San Francisco.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: The Trump administration is ending the use of paper checks for various government programs.
--:-- Ashley Lopez: NPR's Ashley Lopez reports that includes Social Security.
--:-- Ashley Lopez: This change affects a small percentage of Social Security recipients but Nancy Altman with an advocacy group called Social Security Works says there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who have trouble receiving their checks electronically.
--:-- Nancy Altman: They don't have enough money to open a bank account. They don't have enough money to pay the fees on a checking account. They may have mental issues or they may not have access to the Internet.
--:-- Nancy Altman: There may be all sorts of reasons.
--:-- Ashley Lopez: Social Security officials have been encouraging these individuals to figure out a way to enroll in direct deposit or opt for a debit card service.
--:-- Ashley Lopez: Altman says she's concerned a government shutdown will make it harder for people to get help with that process.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Stocks are trading mixed on Wall Street at this hour.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: The Dow was down 90 points, the Nasdaq up 14.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: This is NPR News.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: A man critically injured in last week's shooting at a Dallas federal immigration facility has died.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: He's been identified as 32-year-old Miguel Angel Garcia Hernandez, who had been on life support since the attack.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Authorities say the gunmen targeted federal immigration agents, but all three victims were detainees.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: Born in Mexico, Garcia Hernandez spent most of his life in the U.S. without legal status, working as a house painter.
--:-- Rob Stein: Scientists say they've taken a step that someday could help more people have genetically related children.
--:-- Rob Stein: NPR Rob Stein has more.
--:-- Rob Stein: Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University say they figured out how to replace the DNA in human eggs with genes donated by other women.
--:-- Rob Stein: Scientists then fertilized the newly reconstituted eggs with sperm to make embryos.
--:-- Rob Stein: All the embryos still had genetic abnormalities that would prevent them from producing healthy babies, but the scientists say the step is a proof of concept that this could someday help women who are infertile have genetically related children.
--:-- Rob Stein: The research, reported in the journal Nature Communications, could also help same-sex couples have babies genetically related to both partners, but the technique raises tricky ethical, social, and legal issues.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: On Wall Street, the Dow down 82 points at this hour.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: The Nasdaq Composite trading higher up 16.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: The S&P down two points.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News in Washington.
