Federal Funding Suspended for Los Angeles Homelessness

Live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Dan Ronan. President Trump says he will nominate former Securities and Exchange Commissioner James Clayton to be the next director of National Intelligence. Clayton is currently the US Attorney for the southern district of New York. If confirmed, he would replace Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month, citing the need to be with her husband who's fighting cancer. NPR Congressional Correspondent Eric McDaniel reports Clay ton's expected nomination is being well received in the Senate where he faces a confirmation hearing . He's being received well in the Senate, where he needs fifty votes to be confirmed to be DNI. Republican leader John Thune and top intel Democrat Mark Warner have both expressed some optimism around the pick. In addition to being a prosecutor and former SEC head, Clayton was an accomplished attorney in the private sector, and while he's been the US Attorney in the Southern Distr ict of New York, the office has done a couple high profile things, not least of which is the indictment of former Venezuelan President Nicholas Madoro. While airstrikes in Iran have paused amid the ongoing talks, Israel continues military oper ations in Lebanon . From Beirut, NPR's Jawad Riskal has more. The Israeli military struck multiple locations across southern Lebanon on Thursday, killing eight people, according to Lebanon State Media. One strike near a hospital in Tyre killed a person and wounded ten nurses and hospital staff. Iran backed Hezbollah as it responded with rocket and drone attacks against Israeli troops operating in southern Lebanon. Earlier this week, residents of Tyr's Christian Quarter were warn ed to evacuate after Israel reported Hezbudal activity in the area , without providing evidence. On Thursday, families began slowly returning following a statement from Israel's defense minister permitting residents to go home. Lebanese health authorities say more than three thousand seven hundred people have been killed since the conflict escalated in March, including nearly six hundred women and children and over one hundred and thirty paramedics. Showedr Skullah and PR News, Beirut. President Trump is opening the waters of protected areas in the Pacific Ocean to commercial fishing. The move is opposed by Native Hawaiian cultural groups, NPR's Lauren Summer reports. The largest protected area in the country is in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Papajana Moku a National Marine Sanctuary is home to pristine coral reefs and habitat for rare species. Trump has signed a proclamation to open most of its waters to commercial fishing , along with two other Pacific marine monuments. The move is supported by the tuna fishing industry, which says it's facing tough international competition. Conservation groups say rolling back protections puts the unique ecosystem at ris k. The area is also considered sacred by native Hawaiian cultural groups who fought for decades for it to receive protections. Lauren Summer NPR News Severe weather Thursday evening swept through the Midwest tornadoes damaged build ings in the city of Streeter, Illinois that's about eighty miles southwest of Chicago. An estimated two hundred forty thousand people in the area are without power. This is NPR. The Trump administration says it is suspending homelessness funding for the city of Los Angeles , citing financial mismanagement. NPR's Jennifer Luden reports federal officials say they'll investigate the local agency that oversees the money . The move is the latest blow to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority or LASA, which is long coordinated services for both LA, city, and county. Last year, audits found it failed to properly track spending or the out come of programs, the county then said it would pull its local money out of the agency, and the city of LA was considering the same. Now, the federal housing agency HUD says it will investigate whether L AS broAke any laws in its hand ling of federal contracts. In a statement, the local agency said it's already working to improve oversight. L. A. Mayor Karen Bass noted that homelessness there has finally come down the past two years and said Hud's act ions would jeopardize that progress. Jennifer Luden, NPR News. A Minnesota man who shot and killed the former speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and her husband pled guilty to federal murder charges on Thursday, but as a result of the plea deal, the shooter Vance Balter will not face the death penalty. On the same day nearly one year ago, he also shot and seriously wounded a Minnesota State Senator and his wife. Authorities say the gunman came to the homes of the two politicians dressed in a police uniform and driving a car that looked like a police vehicle. The attacks reverberated beyond Minnesota as state and local officials were concerned about threats of political violence expanding across the country. From Washington, this is NPR. Support for