National Guard deployment; Pentagon press policy : NPR
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A federal appeals court is expected to rule on President Trump’s authority to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon.in the coming days. A similar case regarding the deployment of troops to Chicago will go to the Supreme Court. The federal government deployed troops to the two cities against the wishes of the Democratic governors of Illinois and Oregon, and district courts temporarily blocked the deployments. Here’s what you need to know about the legal battles over the deployments in the two states.
Members of the National Guard patrol 14th Street, along with the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police, August 24 in Washington, D.C.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
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Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
- 🎧 The central goal in these cases is to determine who to trust regarding the situation on the ground in these states.: that of the president or local officials, says NPR’s Kat Lonsdorf First. There are several court cases involving National Guard deployments. Chicago is the first to go to the High Court. If the Supreme Court issues an emergency ruling on this case, it will not set a nationwide precedent, but it will provide more clarity about the power the president has to deploy and federalize the military, even against the wishes of local authorities.
The new journalists now hold Pentagon press cards after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth informed news agencies that they must approve a new policy. for covering the military in the middle of last week. Hegseth rolled out the policy a few weeks ago, requiring journalists to sign a document declaring that they do not have the right to broadcast, print or request information that is not authorized for publication by the Pentagon. In response, almost all journalists decided to surrender their press cards.
- 🎧 Hegseth said Pentagon reporters wandered all over the building.which, according to NPR’s David Folkenflik, is not true. This policy change means that the American people’s knowledge about the military will be what Hegseth and company want them to know and nothing else, Folkenflik says.
- ➡️ NPR’s Tom Bowman has had his Pentagon press pass for 28 years but decided to return it due to new media directions. Read why.
European Union leaders are meeting in Brussels for a summit to discuss further pressure on Russia. end its war in Ukraine. At the top of the agenda is a controversial proposal to give Ukraine a large loan using frozen Russian assets held in Europe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the summit, where he is expected to plead with European leaders for support for the idea.
- 🎧 The loan to Ukraine would represent just over $160 billion belonging to the Russian Central Bank. The money was held in Europe, mainly in Belgium, and was tied up due to the large-scale war, explains journalist Teri Schultz. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, wants to grant the loan guaranteed by Russian money because Moscow will owe at least as much to Ukraine in a future peace deal. However, Belgium fears that at some point Russia would have the right to demand repayment of this money and that it would be up to the Belgians to provide it. The Belgians want each of the EU countries to commit to participating in the loan, something other EU member states have been reluctant to do so far, according to Schultz.
Live better
A new study finds that cognitive training can increase levels of a key chemical messenger in the brain responsible for decision-making and reverse a process associated with aging.
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aventtr/iStockphoto/Getty Images
Living Better is a special series about what it takes to stay healthy in America.
A new 10-week study has provided the first compelling evidence that cognitive training can increase levels of a brain chemical that typically declines with age. The research, which involved people aged 65 or older, found that doing rigorous mental exercises for 30 minutes a day increased levels of acetylcholine, a chemical messenger, by 2.3% in a region of the brain involved in attention and memory. This cognitive training appears to reverse age-related decline in this area of the brain by about 10 years.
- 🧠 Of the 92 healthy participants, half played computer games like Candy Crush for 30 minutes while the other half spent the same amount of time doing cognitive exercises. The results showed no change in acetylcholine levels for those who played games, while cognitive training showed positive results.
- 🧠The cognitive exercises were part of a scientifically tested program that challenged users to remember the types and locations of items that appear and disappear at increasing speeds.
- 🧠 Early Alzheimer’s drugs reduced symptoms by increasing acetylcholine levels. Intensive brain training could provide similar benefits and help prevent cognitive decline, according to Michael Hasselmo of the Center for Systems Neuroscience at Boston University.
Image exhibition
Cachitas Now!, a dissident band, sings to a university and queer audience in La Plata. Vocalista Melissa Lobos Cachitas Now!, a splinter group, sings to a university and queer audience in La Plata. Their singer is Melissa Lobos.
Karla Gachet
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Karla Gachet
Cumbia across Latin America is a visual report covering the people, places and cultures that keep this musical genre alive in six countries.
The history of Argentine cumbia cannot be analyzed without considering the role that migration plays in this genre, explains Luciano Rombolá, host of the radio show Cumbia de la Pura. Around the 1950s, the University of Buenos Aires welcomed foreign migrants, who could study for free, thus attracting many music students. Among the students was Mario Castellón from Costa Rica, who formed a group with two Colombians, a Peruvian and a Chilean to perform at a wedding. This collaboration led to the formation of Los Wawancó, one of Argentina’s most iconic cumbia groups. Since then, other influences such as chicha and tropical huayno from Bolivia, cachaca from Paraguay, cumbia chicheras, chacaloneras and norteñas from Peru, and Colombian cumbia have made their way to Argentine cumbia. Learn about Argentina’s influence on the music genre and see images of the vibrant culture developed. You can also read the article in Spanish.
3 things to know before you leave
The Museum of Christian and Gospel Music opened this month in Nashville.
Jewly Hight/Nashville Public Radio
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Jewly Hight/Nashville Public Radio
- The Museum of Christian and Gospel Music opened this month in Nashville. It is the first museum in the United States designed to celebrate the diverse history of Christian music.
- Billboard has updated its system to remove songs from the Hot 100 singles chart once they are too old to be considered contemporary hits. The new measure removed 10 titles from this week’s ranking.
- This week, Iceland recorded mosquitoes on its territory for the first time in its history.
This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen.
