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- [00:01]
Nora Ramm
Live from NPR News. In Washington, I'm Nora Ramm. President Trump is reportedly prepared to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. In exchange, a 1.7 billion dollar fund would be set up to compensate people who believe they were wronged by the Biden administration. Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin told ABC News this is illegal and unconstitutional.
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Jamie Raskin
The judgment fund was set up by Congress in the 1960s for the purpose of paying actual court judgments against the United States. If somebody, say a member of the armed services is injured by a military doctor and they bring a lawsuit and a judgment is entered against the US that can be paid, or they could settle a case like that with a valid cause of action. This, of course, is a political grievance fund.
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Nora Ramm
He said Trump could use the money to pay off his friends. Raskin says if people believe they have a case, they, they should bring it to court like every other American and prove it. He says the idea that Donald Trump can just pass it out like a pardon is absurd. Thousands of people mobilized for voting rights this weekend across the south, and more rallies are planned. The Gulf States Newsroom's Joseph King reports from Montgomery, Alabama.
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Joseph King
A large crowd made up of faith and political leaders and people from all over the country rallied together in Montgomery. The rally comes as Republican lawmakers in the south redraw congressional maps following the Louisiana vs. Koolaid decision. U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez appeared at the rally. She says she believes legislators proposing new maps are driven by race.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
This is absolutely a racist attack on our voting system.
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Joseph King
Almost immediately after the ruling, Alabama legislators proposed to redraw their maps. The state has only two Democratic districts. The a majority black redrawing could eliminate one or both. For NPR News, I'm Joseph King in Montgomery.
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Nora Ramm
The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo as a public health emergency of international concern. It says there have been more than 80 deaths suspected to be linked to the disease. Michael Koloki has more on the story.
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Michael Kaloki
In a statement, the agency said that the outbreak in the two countries poses a risk to other nations and called for international coordination determination in the surveillance of the disease. The agency warned that there are no approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugio strain of the Ebola virus that has been identified in the current outbreak. It advised that those infected with the strain, as well as people they have been in contact with, should not travel internationally unless as part of a medical evacuation. However, the UN Body also called on countries not to close their borders or restrict travel out of fear, as this could result in people using informal unmonitored border crossings. For NPR News, I'm Michael Kaluki in Nairobi.
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Nora Ramm
And you're listening to NPR News in Washington. Officials in the United Arab Emirates say a drone strike targeted the country's only nuclear power plant, sparking a fire in its perimeter. No injuries were reported, and radiological safety levels were unaffected. The UAE has previously accused Iran of attacking its energy infrastructure. Iran has repeatedly attacked Gulf states that host U.S. military bases. The United nations is warning that conditions in Cuba are getting worse. NPR's Eder Peralta reports. A de facto oil blockade by the US Is disrupting health care.
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Eder Peralta
A UN Delegation visited Cuba for three days. They found that a de facto oil blockade by the US Means that some hospitals have faced power outages for as long as 20 hours. The UN found hospitals have had to delay more than 100,000 surgeries and they are struggling to provide basic surgery services, saying Cuba poses a national security threat. The US has tightened sanctions on Cuba. The Cuban government says money is so tight it is often having to decide whether to buy food or medicine. The two countries are involved in negotiations. President Trump has said he wants fundamental changes in Cuba, but the Cuban government has said neither their form of government nor their leadership is on the table. Ada Pralta, NPR News, Mexico City.
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Nora Ramm
Michaela Esposito will become the first woman to represent the US in welding and at the World Skills Competition in China, described as the Olympics of the skilled trades. Sposito, a community college student from Michigan, says welding doesn't take any brute strength. It's actually very fine and precise. But she says being the first female to qualify is very cool. I'm Nora Ramm, NPR News.
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