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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez of Texas says he will retire from Congress as he faces bipartisan calls to expel him. Gonzalez is admitted to an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide. And seven term California Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell says he will resign following multiple sexual assault allegations made against him. He had been seen as a frontrunner in California's gubernatorial race before dropping out yesterday after the accusations surfaced. The lawmakers are among four House members, two Democrats and two Republicans who were facing possible expulsion over alleged misconduct. President Trump says the US has begun a blockade of the Iranian ports. He's trying to get Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz and accept a deal to end the war.
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We can't let a country blackmail or extort the world because that's what they're doing. They're really blackmailing the world. We're not going to let that happen.
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Iran responded with threats on U. S. Allied ports in the region. That poses serious risks for the global economy and the nearly week old ceasefire. Georgia's Public Service Commission has filed an order to stop utility bill shut offs for the state's TSA employees during the government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Dormya Vance from member station WABE reports.
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According to the PSC order, a moratorium would be put in place to pause any shutoffs due to unpaid or late utility bills. As the shutdown continues, Georgia officials say TSA agents would need to verify their employment status to be eligible. The order states employees must pay off any past due balances within 30 days after the shutdown ends and when back pay is completely restored. The Georgia PSC filing comes just over two weeks after President Donald Trump signed a memo promising to pay TSA workers. TSA employees at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson Airport have started seeing some of their back pay as of last week. For NPR News, I'm Dermya Vance in Atlanta.
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If you're planning to file a tax return this week by mail, you may want to go to a post office in person before this Wednesday's April 15 filing deadline. As NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports, the U.S. postal Service may not postmark some tax returns and other mail on the same day they're sent.
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The IRS says it considers a mail tax return to be filed on time if it has the right address, enough postage and a postmark date that's on or before the filing deadline. The U.S. postal Service usually automatically automatically stamps postmarks when it processes mail that's dropped off. But exactly when that processing happens has become more complicated in more parts of the country. As part of the Postal Service's reorganization, USPS has cut back how often it picks up mail in certain areas more than 50 miles from one of its regional processing centers. That means some first class mail may not get postmarked until the day after it's collected. To make sure your tax return gets a postmark on the same day you mail it, USPS recommends going to a post office and asking for a free manual postmark at the counter. Ansi Wang, NPR News.
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This is npr. A dangerous super typhoon in the Pacific Ocean is barreling toward a group of remote US Islands. The storm is expected to make landfall in the Northern Mariana Islands and bring destructive winds, widespread heavy rain and flooding. Brazil's former intelligence chief has been detained in Orlando. He fled Brazil last summer, just days before the Supreme Court convicted him, former President Jair Bolsonaro and five other government members of attempting a coup. As NPR's Julia Carnero reports, Bolsonaro's former
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spy chief, Alejandro, fled Brazil last year, crossing the border from the Amazon into Guyana before heading to the US. When authorities moved to arrest him and found he'd escaped, Ramajin shared a video on social media saying he and his family were safe in the US the world's freest democracy. Brazilian authorities consider him a fugitive and requested his extradition last December. But in the US Hamaji has remained vocal on social media and even appeared in the Republican CPAC meeting in Texas two weeks ago. Brazil's federal police said in a statement the detention followed close cooperation between Brazil and U.S. authorities. For NPR News, I'm Julia Carneiro.
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In Brazil, Colombian officials are moving forward with a plan to cull dozens of hippos that are descendants of animals brought to the country in the 1980s by drug lord Pablo Escobar. They're not native to South America, and they have been roaming freely, threatening villagers and displacing local species. Escobar brought them in for his gigantic ranch. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.
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This message comes from Working Forests Initiative in American Working Forests. Their professionals are committed to planting more trees than they harvest. Learn more@working forestsinitiative.com.