Category: 4-FrequentNewsStreams

City Council votes to end a phaseout of the sub-minimum wage and raise the tax on downtown hotels, making it the highest hotel tax in the nation. And federal prosecutors say a local cyber security expert turned out to actually be a cyber criminal. Plus takeaways and surprises from Tuesday’s primary election. In the Loop breaks down those stories and more in our Weekly News Recap with Julie Bosman, Chicago bureau chief for the New York Times, Fox 32 political correspondent Paris Schutz and senior public safety editor for WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, Tom Schuba. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.

If you're traveling in the next week or so, get to the airport early. Airport security lines are growing as workers with the Transportation Security Administration go without pay during the partial government shutdown. Nearly 50,000 TSA workers missed a paycheck last week, and if Congress doesn’t act, they could miss another one next Friday. Then, we'll dig into how wide salary ranges on job postings can influence an applicant's approach to negotiation over pay.

The Postal Service says it's facing a "severe financial crisis." Postmaster General David Steiner testified before a House subcommittee this week and said that the USPS was struggling and could “be out of cash in less than 12 months” unless something changes. Today, we check the finances of the postal service. And later, war in the Middle East is driving up fertilizer and diesel costs, worrying U.S. farmers during planting season.

This week, Amazon speeds up delivery even more. Plus, will BuzzFeed stay in business?

But first, Gecko, a robotics startup, landed a $71 million contract with the U.S. Navy. The 13-year-old Pittsburgh-based company says it'll be using its drones and wall-climbing robots to help find defects on ships. Then, it will use artificial intelligence to model current and future structural issues.

Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Anita Ramaswamy, financial analysis columnist at The Information, about all these headlines for this week’s “Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”

Iranian strikes on oil and gas facilities across the Persian Gulf sent shockwaves through global energy markets a day after Israel struck Iran's main natural gas complex. President Trump sought to reassure Americans as gas prices surge, even as the Pentagon appears poised to ask Congress for up to $200 billion for the war effort. Special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

With the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran nearing its third week, Geoff Bennett spoke with special correspondent Reza Sayah in Tehran. They discussed the atmosphere on the ground there and how people are reacting. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

To discuss the number of petroleum facilities that have been struck, and how the countries in the Persian Gulf view the war in Iran, Geoff Bennett spoke with Susan Ziadeh. She served as U.S. ambassador to Qatar during the Obama administration and is now a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

As the war with Iran nears the end of its third week, the Pentagon is considering asking Congress to approve $200 billion to fund the ongoing military operation. Lisa Desjardins discussed more with Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who serves on the Armed Services Committee. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

From video game clips to cartoon characters to blockbuster movie scenes, the Trump administration's Iran messaging has embraced a style critics say blurs the line between propaganda and entertainment and risks reducing a real war to spectacle. White House correspondent Liz Landers reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Newport, Oregon is a small town on the coast with beautiful beach views. After the town’s rescue helicopter was taken to the southern border, the community came together against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In this episode, we talk to a local reporter who covered the story. Plus, we check on lower-than-expected January home sales numbers and jobless claims. Later, a drugstore owner in a “pharmacy desert,” and a look at the climate cost of war in Iran.

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