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Live from NPR News. In Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. President Trump is threatening Iran again. Writing online last hour, he told Iran to come to the table to negotiate a deal with no nuclear weapons. He says, quote, a, a massive armada is heading to Iran. Trump says it's bigger than the one sent to Venezuela. And the president says if Iran does not make a deal, the next attack, quote, will be far worse. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to be questioned today about the Trump administration's military operation in Venezuela. NPR's Michelle Keleman reports. He'll appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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In his prepared remarks, Secretary Rubio defends the military operation to oust President Nicolas Maduro and says the US Will help help Venezuela transition from a, quote, criminal state to a responsible partner. He says he's keeping a close watch on former vice president and now interim leader Delsey Rodriguez, who he says has promised to open up Venezuela's energy sector to American companies. The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Jeanne Shaheen, says in her prepared remarks that the US has traded one dictator for another in Venezuela. And she says the US Naval blockade around Venezuela is costing American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, Washington.
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A man has been arrested in Minneapolis after he rushed Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar last night. He was tackled after he sprayed her with a liquid. Omar was speaking at a town hall about the Trump administration's crackdown when she was interrupted.
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Secretary Kristi Noem must resign or face impeach.
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Omar's office says that she is okay. She continued speaking after the assault. The Federal Reserve is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady this afternoon when policymakers wrap up their latest meeting. NPR Scott Horsley reports. The central bank is facing pressure from the White House to cut rates more aggressively.
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The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates three times since September out of concern with a softening job market. Job growth has slowed sharply over the last year, and surveys show worries about job security are weighing on consumer confidence. But inflation is still higher than the Fed would like, so a majority of Fed policymakers are expected to vote to keep rates where they are. For now. President Trump insists borrowing costs should be much lower, and he's been demanding the Fed do his bidding even Though the central bank is supposed to be insulated from political pressure, Trump is preparing to nominate a replacement for Jerome Powell, whose term as Fed chairman is set to expire later this spring. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
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On Wall street in premarket trading, stock futures are mixed. The Dow is down. The Nasdaq is up more than 200. This is NPR. 40 years ago today, the space shuttle Challenger exploded. It killed seven astronauts, including teacher in space Christa McAuliffe. The explosion was blamed on a leaking booster rocket joint and NASA's failure to heed the warnings of rocket engineers. Howard Burkus reports.
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Engineers at booster rocket contractor Morton Thiokol warned that freezing weather made it too risky to launch Challenger. NASA launched anyway. That fatal decision prompted a lessons learned program at NASA led by Michael Cianilli.
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The folks in the organizations have to feel we honor dissenting opinion. There's no ramifications.
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Ryan Russell was one of the engineers who tried to stop the Challenger launch. He's been delivering his own lessons learned message to NASA managers.
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No one wants to be the one to stand up and say, I'm not ready. But the listening under high stress environments like that is really crucial.
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Last week, NASA honored the 17 astronauts killed in three space agency disasters. For NPR News, I'm Howard Berkus.
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Power crews are making gains on electricity outages across the country. Nearly 400,000 customers are in the dark after last weekend's winter storm. The greatest number of outages are still in Tennessee and Mississippi. The National Weather Service is watching another potential winter storm brewing. Forecasters say it could hit the east coast this weekend. Initial forecasts suggest the coast of north and South Carolina would get hit first. Then the storm could zip north toward New England. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News, in Washington.
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