Category: 4-FrequentNewsStreams

The United States’ entanglement in Iran and Israel’s current conflict has a long, complicated history. Today we’re looking back at how it led up to the U.S. strikes on Iran over the weekend. Two major factors: Iran’s nuclear capabilities and economic sanctions, which the U.S. used to deter Iran’s nuclear program and to incentivize Iran to sign on to the 2015 nuclear deal. Rose Kelanic, director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities, explains some of the history behind tensions between the U.S. and Iran, the role sanctions played in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and how the deal broke down.

Later, one listener’s take on the Trump administration’s threats to the Pell Grant program. And, a gardening blogger was wrong about DIY plant food hacks.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Strike Set Back Iran’s Nuclear Program by Only a Few Months, U.S. Report Says" from The New York Times
• "Trump tries to maintain fragile ceasefire hours after he announced it" from Politico 
• "Iran’s Nuclear Dreams May Survive Even a Devastating American Blow" from The New York Times 
• "History of US-Iran relations: From the 1953 regime change to Trump strikes" from Al Jazeera 
• "Why Israel will resist any US-Iran nuclear deal" from Atlantic Council 

• "Satellites show damage to Iran's nuclear program, but experts say it's not destroyed" from NPR  

  
  

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Currently, if you or your kids get into college and don’t have the money to pay for it, you can borrow however much you need from the federal government to cover tuition and living expenses. If the tax cuts and budget bill working its way through Congress passes, that won’t be the case anymore. Plus, some oil experts aren't worried about the Strait of Hormuz and Fed Chair Jerome Powell heads to Capitol Hill.

Could “granny flats” help ease Chicago’s affordable housing crisis? Many advocates and even political leaders think so – the problem is, they’re banned in Chicago. And political gridlock makes legalizing them easier said than done. Reset finds out what the process of building Additional Dwelling Units is like and what’s getting in the way of expanding this housing option across the city with a panel of guests: Brian Peterman, a Lakeview resident who built an ADU on his property; his mother-in-law Louise D’Agostino, who lives in the ADU, and Alex Nitkin, government finance and accountability reporter with the Illinois Answers Project of the Better Government Association. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

The situation in the Israel-Iran war is fluid, with Israel accusing Iran of violating a ceasefire that President Donald Trump had announced late yesterday. Israel is vowing firm retaliation. Players in financial markets continue to take a wait-and-see position. We'll discuss the state of play. Also on the program: a preview of consumer confidence and a look at why defense is front and center at this week's NATO summit.

From the BBC World Service: The price of Brent crude oil has fallen to $69 a barrel, despite a statement from Israel saying that it has identified missiles launched from Iran earlier this morning, something Iran has denied. Israel had announced it had agreed to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire with Iran earlier today, causing the oil price to drop 15% from a high of $81 a barrel yesterday. Plus, Google comes under pressure and a tariff deadline looms.

Iran's government knocked out internet and mobile networks after Israel began bombing the country. That’s left the population with little to no access to critical information. One person who watched this played out is Ahmad Ahmadian, executive director at Holistic Resilience, an organization that helps Iranians circumvent government censorship. He says Iran's government often restricts internet during critical times.

Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar, though also indicated a desire to de-escalate. President Trump is echoing that call and announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, which began this recent conflict when it attacked Iran and its nuclear program 12 days ago. Nick Schifrin reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

For analysis of the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and Tehran's response, Geoff Bennett spoke with retired Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan. He commanded the U.S. 5th Fleet based in Bahrain and is now a distinguished military fellow at the Middle East Institute. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been reacting to news of the Iran strikes. Lisa Desjardins reports on the role of Congress and what members of both parties are saying. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

After launching air strikes on Iranian unclear facilities over the weekend, President Trump posted to Truth Social, demanding that U.S. oil firms “drill, baby, drill.” Although ongoing conflict in the Middle East could balloon oil prices, it’s unlikely that domestic producers are racing to ramp up production just yet. Also in this episode: Renting may be more appealing than buying right now, Treasury auctions see stability, and tariffs threaten the success of a Wyoming trona mine.

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