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Today's top stories
For the first time since anti-ICE protests started on Friday, downtown LA was under curfew last night. City officials said the protests have largely been peaceful, but vandalism and looting led to the curfew's implementation. The Trump administration has moved ahead with the deployment of Marines and more National Guard troops, despite the objections of the state and the city. The administration says the Marines and the National Guard's mission is to protect federal facilities and employees.
- 🎧 There are reports that the National Guard has been protecting ICE agents as they do their jobs, but that could put soldiers into situations that look like policing, NPR's Martin Kaste tells Up First. A law known as Posse Comitatus bars the military from acting as police inside the United States. William Banks, a professor at Syracuse University Law, says the military can't make arrests or enforce the law. "If the crowd is trying to push through them or throwing rocks at their face or something like that, they could protect themselves, that's federal protection," Banks says. The National Guard has crowd-control training, and some Marines have training for missions such as evacuating U.S. embassies threatened by hostile crowds.
President Trump's immigration crackdown is causing some individuals to leave the country. High-profile raids on farms, construction sites, and restaurants has prompted many workers to go into hiding. According to the Labor Department, over a million foreign-born workers have exited the labor force in the past two months. Consequently, businesses that have traditionally depended on workers without legal authorization are facing significant challenges.
- 🎧 If you look at broad national numbers, it might seem like it's not having a huge impact, as both construction companies and restaurants continued to add jobs last month, NPR's Scott Horsley reports. Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders, says the immigration crackdown has had a chilling effect when it comes to people showing up for work, but it tends to be localized. "The impact is for a week or two. But then people have got to show up and work and earn money for their families," Dietz tells Horsley. The growth of the foreign-born workforce in recent years has supported the U.S. economy, but the president's new strategy focuses on engaging more native-born individuals in the workforce.
An appeal hearing regarding Trump's criminal conviction and sentencing is scheduled for today in a federal court of appeals in Manhattan. This hearing is the latest development in the case involving hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Last year, Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a payment to Daniels. The judge over the case ruled that because Trump is the president, he won't face prison time or other penalties, but the conviction will remain on his record.
- 🎧 Trump's legal team has attempted twice before to have the case moved to federal court but has been unsuccessful. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports that the team cites a specific law allowing federal officials to make such a move if the case involves conduct while in office. However, it has not worked so far, since the hush money payment at the center of the case happened before the 2016 election, when Trump was still a candidate. The president's lawyers make the argument that prosecutors during the trial relied on evidence related to Trump's first term. Legal experts tell Lonsdorf that it is a long shot that this argument will work.
Climate solutions week
NPR is dedicating this entire week to stories and conversations about the search for climate solutions for living and building on a hotter planet and how climate change affects decisions on where and how people live.
Home insurance premiums across the U.S. jumped by an average of 24% in recent years, partly because climate change is driving more intense storms, floods and wildfires, according to the Consumer Federation of America. Insurers and banks have become cautious, backing away from some of the most vulnerable areas, such as coastal communities and regions prone to wildfires. As these insurers drop customers living in high-risk areas, Americans have been pushed into expensive state-run plans with limited coverage. Homeowners who have lost their insurance struggle to rebuild or move after disasters. One effective way to reduce insurance costs is for homeowners and communities to invest in protective measures against storms and fires, such as installing fortified roofs and thinning forest vegetation. Here's what you need to know about the state of America's fragile insurance markets and the efforts being made to fix them.
🌎 Check out all of NPR's Climate Solutions Week stories, including how elevation can help homes that are increasingly at risk from flooding and how trees are helping to cool Las Vegas' hottest neighborhoods.
Living better
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
A continuous glucose monitor is a small, painless device that sticks to your arm and transmits signals to your phone, providing estimates of your blood sugar levels. Research indicates that this technology has been transformative for people with diabetes. In March 2024, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first continuous glucose monitors designed for use by people without diabetes. Currently, two companies, Dexcom and Abbott, are producing these devices. But whether they actually help individuals without diabetes or prediabetes improve their health is the real question.
- 🩸 The concept behind glucose monitoring is that it helps identify meals that cause extreme blood sugar spikes. Modifying these meals can aid in weight loss, lower diabetes risk, and improve overall well-being.
- 🩸 One study testing the concept found that the CGM-based diet didn't help people lose more weight than following the Mediterranean diet. However, it did help lower people's blood sugar.
- 🩸 The monitors have proven helpful for people who are highly sensitive to carbohydrates. They also provide extra motivation to eat healthier foods and raise extra awareness about your diet.
3 things you should know before you go
- Khaby Lame, known for his hilariously silent persona on TikTok, was detained last week by immigration officers, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials stated that he was permitted to leave the U.S. after overstaying his visa.
- Muslims are the fastest-growing religious group, according to a Pew Research Center study based on measuring the changes in the global religious population between 2010 and 2020. Here's which group came in second.
- Clearing ponds of American bullfrogs, which will feed on anything that fits into their mouths, helped other species stage a comeback, new research found.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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