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Live from NPR News. In Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Civil rights leader and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson has died. That's according to a statement from his family and the group he founded, the Rainbow Push Coalition of Chicago. Jackson was 84 years old. There are two sets of high level talks today in Geneva. The Trump administration is sending representatives to both special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son in law Jared Kushner. They've held indirect talks with Iranian diplomats over Tehran's nuclear weapons program. NPR's Jackie Northam says next in Geneva, the envoys are attending talks with Ukrainian and Russian representatives.
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Wyckoff and Kushner are addressing these two major crises on the very same day. And there are even lower expectations of a breakthrough with the Ukraine talks than the Iran ones. This is only recently Ukraine and Russia have done face to face meetings and that could indicate some pressure by Trump. You recall during his presidential campaign, he said he'd stop the war in one day. Now he says he wants a deal by June. But there is no real end to the war in the site and it's set to enter its fifth year next week.
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NPR's Jackie Northam reporting. The Department of Homeland Security remains partially shut down. Congress has not passed a funding bill yet. That means TSA agents across the country are again working without pay. From member station WABE in Atlanta, Marlon Hyde reports.
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It has only been a few months since the record 43 day shutdown last fall, and now TSA employees must work without a paycheck again. Tom Smith is an economist at Emory University.
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What we saw in the past was you'll get an increase in number of people who are calling out sick. People will have to pick up second jobs in order to, you know, pay their bills.
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Smith says that could lead to delays and major inconveniences for passengers. The American Federation of Government employees, which represents 47,000 transportation security officers, has not responded to a request for comment. For NPR News, I'm Marla Hod in Atlanta.
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Forecasters say there's record warm temperatures, dry conditions and high winds across the middle of the US From Nebraska Public media, Matt Olberding reports that's raised fire risks.
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The potential wildfire risk on Tuesday in Nebrask could be higher than it's been in several years. Caleb Brown, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Platte, Nebraska, says his office issued a critical fire risk warning for the first time since April 2014.
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The gist of the forecast is we are expecting, you know, near record temperatures in the upper 60s to 70s, you know, relative humidity values as low as 10 to 15% and winds from the west gusting as high as 50 to 55 miles per hour.
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Red flag warnings, which signal a high risk for wildfires are in place in a number of states ranging from South Dakota to Texas. For NPR News, I'm Matt Olberding in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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On Wall Street, Dow futures are lower. This is NPR Journalist Anderson Cooper says he will leave the CBS program 60 Minutes. He's been reporting there for two decades as part of a job sharing arrangement with cnn. That's where he hosts a weeknight news program. Cooper says he's seeking to spend time with his young children. There have also been questions about editorial decisions by senior management installed by CBS's parent company, Skydance Media. Today is the start of the lunar New Year. This year in China, the public holiday has been extended to nine days instead of eight in hopes of boosting consumption. NPR's Jennifer Pack has more from Shanghai.
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The lunar new year is a time when people hand out money packets, have feasts and travel. This year, Chinese authorities have allocated allocated close to $300 million in cash handouts and vouchers for restaurants and movie theaters, and subsidies for things like home appliances. Similar efforts last year did boost spending, though only temporarily. Many consumers say they feel poorer, thanks to a prolonged property slump. But unless China's consumers pick up spending, the Chinese economy will rely on exports. And some countries say cheap Chinese goods undercut their local industries and are pushing back. Jennifer Pack, NPR News, Shanghai.
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There's still shock in Italy over the collapse of a seaside beauty spot called Lovers Arch. A powerful storm last weekend collapsed the natural stone arch, a favorite of couples. It fell on Valentine's Day. Italian officials are warning other parts of the southern coast are fragile, too. This is npr.
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