Transcript
A (0:01)
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jeanine Herbst. President Trump is again threatening Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, saying on social media Today it has 48 hours to open the straight or quote, all hell will rain down. And glory to God this as the search for a missing U.S. service member in Iran continues. Tehran shot down two U.S. military planes yesterday, but two other crew members were rescued. Earlier, Trump said the U.S. would pound Iran back to, quote, the Stone Age. Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former State Department official, says it shows Iran remains a threat.
B (0:40)
It's extraordinary, frankly, in the thousands of sorties that both the Americans and Israelis have flown that this is the first time that you had a downed aircraft. But it is, I think, tremendously symbolic. It suggests that the Americans don't have total escalation dominance of the airspace. Iranians still have capacity, not to mention the propaganda value of this, assuming the Iranians find the airmen speaking there.
A (1:03)
On NPR's Weekend Edition, Iranian media reports that for the fourth time since the start of the war, a nuclear power plant has been struck and the plant remains functioning. But NPR's Dee Parvez reports a possible radiation leak wouldn't be limited to just Iran.
C (1:20)
The nuclear power plant in Bushehr, which is on the country's coastline on the Persian Gulf, was struck by a projectile from a strike to its perimeter on Saturday, killing one of the plant's security personnel. The International Atomic Energy Agency says that no increase in radiation levels have been detected in the area. But in a statement posted on X, the agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, said that the nuclear power plants and surrounding areas must never be attacked. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Arauchi, noted on X that any radioactive fallout from the plant will end life in neighboring Gulf Arab countries. Radioactive material from the damaged plant could leak into the Gulf, contaminating water's vital to states like Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Dee Pavaz, NPR News, Vaughn, Turkey.
A (2:08)
The Trump administration wants to privatize airport security operations run by the TSA. NPR's Joel Rose reports.
D (2:15)
President Trump's budget proposes cutting funding for the TSA, the Transportation Security Administration, by more than $50 million. And it would require small airports to enroll in a program in which TSA pays for private contractors to staff security checkpoints. That program has existed for years, but only 20 airports are enrol. The Trump administration argues that privatized screening would save taxpayers money. But critics, including the union that represents TSA officers, say it would undermine security. The budget request reflects the White House's priorities, but it's Congress that ultimately sets and approves spending levels. And lawmakers are still deadlocked over funding for the Department of Homeland Security in this year's budget. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington.