--:-- Shea Stevens: This message comes from NPR sponsor Odoo. Some describe Odoo like a magic beanstalk because it scales with you and is magically affordable. Odoo, exactly what a business needs. Sign up at odoo.com. That's O-D-O-O dot com.
--:-- Shea Stevens: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. The U.S. 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.
--:-- Neil Gorsuch: Congress is a practical matter. It 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.
--:-- John Roberts: Trump taxes, Trump terrorists, impose taxes on American citizens. Which is the constitutional duty of Congress.
--:-- Shea Stevens: 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.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: NPR 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 Sanek: Stephanie Sanek 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.
--:-- Windsor Johnston: 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.
--:-- Shea Stevens: 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.
--:-- Nell Greenfield Boyce: President Trump is re-nominating billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman to head NASA. 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.
--:-- Nell Greenfield Boyce: When President Trump previously withdrew Isaacman nomination he said at the time he had concerns about Isaacman's political leanings. Now, though, in a social media post, President Trump has announced Isaacman is his choice to be the head of NASA, making no reference to the first nomination.
--:-- Shea Stevens: The Senate must confirm Isaacman, whose nomination comes as NASA and its contractor SpaceX, are facing delays in their efforts to return humans to the moon.
--:-- Nell Greenfield Boyce: U.S. futures are lower in after-hours trading.
--:-- Shea Stevens: This is NPR.
--:-- Judge (unnamed): A federal judge is giving Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials two weeks to make improvements at a detention facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview. ICE must provide clean bedding mats, soap, towel, and other hygiene essentials for migrant detainees. The temporary order also requires twice daily cleanings.
--:-- John Riewich: Google and Fortnite maker Epic Games are seeking court approval of their settlement in a long-running dispute over the search giant's App Store. Details from NPR's John Riewich.
--:-- John Riewich: Epic Games sued Google five years ago, arguing that Google Play Store for apps on Android devices was a monopoly with high fees. Epic won in 2023 and a judge later said Google must allow other app stores on Android. But Google appealed late last year and the case has dragged on.
--:-- John Riewich: Now, Google and Epic say they've agreed to a set of changes to Android and Google Play. Google says they focus on expanding developer choice and flexibility, lowering fees, and encouraging more competition while keeping users safe. If approved, the settlement ends one of several cases that Google faces challenging its dominance over swaths of the Internet.
--:-- Shea Stevens: Google is a financial supporter of NPR.
--:-- John Riewich: John Riewich, NPR News.
--:-- Shea Stevens: The central Philippines is under a state of emergency declaration as cleanup from a deadly storm gets underway. Typhoon Kalmegi 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.
--:-- Shea Stevens: This is NPR News. Thank you.
