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Jeanine Herbst (0:18)
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jeanine Herbst. President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to resume testing nuclear weapons. NPR's Jeff Brumfiel says there's only one place in America where they can test.
Jeff Brumfiel (0:32)
Them, and that's in the desert outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. It's a place called the Nevada National Security Site. It's absolutely massive. I was out there last year. It's bigger than the state of Rhode Island. Basically. They dig a hole, bury the weapon thousands of feet underground, and then they detonate it. But the test site is not ready to do a really scientific test. They don't have the, the experiment design. They don't have the instrumentation. That kind of test would take years to develop because the U.S. hasn't tested since 1992.
Jeanine Herbst (1:05)
NPR's Jeff Brumfield reporting. Trump is back in Washington after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. No deals on trade issues were reached, but China's near total export ban on rare earth minerals has been paused. Democrats are slamming the Trump administration for politicizing the military. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports. That includes leaving Democrats out of briefings on lethal strikes against alleged drug boats.
Quill Lawrence (1:35)
The Trump administration has labeled alleged narco traffickers as illegal combatants. That's the legal justification for military strikes against more than a dozen small boats, killing more than 60 people without trial or presenting evidence. But Senate Democrats say they have been excluded from a White House briefing on the issue. And House Democrats say the Pentagon abruptly pulled its lawyers from a classified briefing of the Armed Services Committee. The White House says Democrats are soft on narco trafficking. Democrats say President Trump is using the military for politics, including making campaign style partisan speeches on military bases, which conflicts with the US Military's centuries of apolitical tradition. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
Jeanine Herbst (2:19)
The leaders of several airlines are calling on Congress to end the government shutdown. NPR's Joel Rose reports. Top industry officials attended a meeting at the White House today.
Joel Rose (2:30)
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are urging Congress to reopen the government so that air traffic controllers and TSA officers can get paid. Vice President J.D. vance spoke after meeting with aviation leaders at the White House.