Space Force officer reacts after Supreme Court allows transgender military ban
NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Bree Fram, a U.S. Space Force officer, about the Supreme Court decision to allow the Trump administration's ban on trans troops to continue being enacted.
The Political Gamesmanship Behind The 2018 Winter Olympics
Michel Martin asks North Korea expert Jean Lee, former Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert, and former COO for the U.S. Olympic Committee Lt. Gen. Wallace Gregson about behind-the-scenes diplomacy.
Rep. Schiff Reacts To Trump's Decision To Not Immediately Release Democratic Memo
President Trump blocked the release of a Democratic memo rebutting an earlier Republican memo. The White House said the Democrats' response had too much secret information.
Rachel Brand, Third In Command At The Justice Department, Is Leaving Her Post
Her departure is notable as she would be in line to replace Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is supervising the special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Implications Of The House Intelligence Committee Sticking To Party Lines
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks to Jeremy Bash, former chief Democratic counsel for the House Intelligence Committee. He talks about the implications for how the committee is separating themselves along party lines.
After Passing Budget Deal, Congress Turns To Immigration Without A Clear Plan
Now that Congress has passed a two-year budget deal they will move ahead on immigration legislation, but it's not clear what kind of plan could pass. Many Republicans also remain sore over an increase in deficit spending.
Despite Tumultuous Stock Market, Some Economists Say Inflation Threat Is Exaggerated
The economic expansion has come with high corporate profits, but barely any wage growth. Now, markets are in a tizzy over a a recent bump up in wages. But Germany has an even tighter job market without higher inflation, and one measure of job market tightness — the number of people who quit jobs to take new ones — remains low.
Concerns Rise As Missouri's Legislature Is Struggling To Fund Basic Services
In Missouri, the state's embattled governor and GOP legislature are struggling to fund basic services, such as roads, higher education institutions, and health care for disabled. Even some Republicans are worried that the state is following a path that Kansas took earlier in the decade, when the GOP starkly cut taxes — and later had to raise them.
Why Printers Still Fail, Despite Advances In Technology
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Joshua Rothman of The New Yorker about his story "Why Paper Jams Persist" that discusses the limits of technology.
Bipartisan Budget Agreement Spends Too Much Money For Most Conservative Republicans
The federal government reopened after a brief government shutdown and fallout continues over the dismissal of former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter. NPR's Ari Shapiro is joined by Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post, and Erick Erickson, of The Resurgent blog, to discuss the shutdown, Porter and more of this week's top political stories.
Agency Conducting Government Background Checks Has Backlog Of 700,000
Thousands of jobs with the government dealing with national security and other sensitive issues require applicants to get a background check or security clearance. But the agency conducting the checks has a backlog of some 700,000 applications. Members of Congress say this poses a serious national security risk.