--:-- Ryland Barton: Support for this podcast and the following message come from the University at Buffalo, where researchers have developed an AI-powered handwriting analysis tool to screen for dyslexia and other learning disorders. More at buffalo.edu slash NPR.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
--:-- Ryland Barton: A federal judge has blocked President Trump from deploying the National Guard to Chicago for two weeks. The administration sent troops to the city amid an immigration crackdown. They say the National Guard is necessary to protect ICE agents and federal property. Illinois and Chicago sued to block the move. The state calls the deployment a constitutional crisis.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Federal Judge April Perry heard arguments over the dispute today.
--:-- Kerry Johnson: A federal grand jury has indicted New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James on fraud charges. It's the latest case brought by federal prosecutors after Trump called on the Department of Justice to target his perceived political enemies.
--:-- Kerry Johnson: As Attorney General, James successfully sued Trump and his company for inflating the value of his properties, leading to a $450 million judgment. An appeals court overturned that fine but upheld the finding that Trump had committed fraud.
--:-- Kerry Johnson: NPR Kerry Johnson has more on how the DOJ secured the indictment against James. I'm told by a source it's a single count of bank fraud. This follows a months-long investigation this year by prosecutors in Virginia and this process was really unusual.
--:-- Kerry Johnson: A Republican prosecutor who had been leading the office concluded there was not enough evidence to bring a case against Tish James, but then he was forced out of his job by the White House, and the woman who replaced him, Lindsay Halligan, has no experience as a prosecutor.
--:-- Kerry Johnson: Halligan is the person who presented the case to the grand jury today.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: On day nine of the government shutdown, both parties still remain deeply divided on a solution.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: As NPR's Claudia Grisales reports, the Republican-led Congress is spiraling deeper into a war of words.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Congressional leaders have a now-familiar daily shutdown routine on Capitol Hill. Blame the other side for the gridlock.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: The Democrats own this shutdown.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And Republicans in Congress are nowhere to be found.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: He's playing games with the American people.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: And now Republicans have shut down the government.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: That's Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: They're fighting a daily messaging war with little signs of a breakthrough to end the shutdown.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Senate Republicans want a handful of Democrats to sign off on their stopgap bill but won't agree to their demands.
--:-- Claudia Grisales: Democrats want an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies to keep health premiums from spiking soon.
--:-- Ryland Barton: The Israeli cabinet has approved the first phase of a U.S.-brokered plan to end the war in Gaza.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners may start going home within a few days as an initial step to the agreement.
--:-- Ryland Barton: President Trump says he's planning to leave for the Middle East sometime on Sunday.
--:-- Ryland Barton: Asked today to confirm that Palestinians won't be forced out of Gaza, Trump answered, quote, nobody's going to be forced to leave.
--:-- Ryland Barton: This is NPR News from Washington.
--:-- Gianni Infantino: FIFA President Gianni Infantino is asking protesters to keep calm ahead of Israel's upcoming Soccer World Cup qualifying matches in Norway and Italy.
--:-- Gianni Infantino: Israel's team is visiting Norway on Saturday before traveling to Italy, where an estimated 10,000 people are planning to protest.
--:-- Gianni Infantino: Infantino says that now that a peace plan is rolling out, quote, everyone should be happy.
--:-- Elena Moore: Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization founded by the late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, says it will put on counter-programming during Bad Bunny's upcoming Super Bowl halftime show.
--:-- Elena Moore: NPR Elena Moore reports on the conservative backlash to the global superstar who criticized President Trump's immigration policies.
--:-- Elena Moore: Turning Point is dubbing the event the All-American Halftime Show and says it will celebrate faith, family, and freedom.
--:-- Elena Moore: It follows other right-wing pushback against the National Football League's choice of headliner for this year's show.
--:-- Elena Moore: Bad Bunny, who is an American from Puerto Rico, mainly sings in Spanish but speaks and performs in English as well.
--:-- Elena Moore: He's fresh off a months-long residency in Puerto Rico and says he didn't tour in the 50 states because of concerns that ICE would target his shows.
--:-- Elena Moore: The three-time Grammy winner is seen as one of the most popular musicians in the U.S. and around the world.
--:-- Ryland Barton: For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, visitors to Rome's Colosseum can walk through a hidden imperial passage that once allowed Roman emperors to sneak into the ancient amphitheater.
--:-- Ryland Barton: The Commodus Passage once led Roman emperors to their reserved honor box overlooking gladiator matches.
--:-- Ryland Barton: I'm Ryland Barton. This is NPR News from Washington.
