NPR News: 03-05-2026 8PM EST

0:00Get in Loser, we're taking a trip under the sea to a junkyard. I've done cobra helicopter. We've seen old washer machines as a second strip butt count. This junk helped create one of the world's largest artificial reefs and a new home for many marine animals. But how did our trash become another fish's treasure? Find out on shortwave. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump has fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Nome in the first major cabinet shake-up of his second term. NPR's Hemenobustio reports the president has selected Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullins to fill the position. He's going to have a lot to juggle. Trump says that he could take over by the end of March, though, of course, he will have to get confirmed by the Senate. And it is unclear whether the agency will be funded by Congress by then. There is bipartisan consensus that there's a lack of trust in federal immigration enforcement

1:03officers. And internally, there have also been fractures. At NPR's Hemenobustio reporting, Secretary Nome is expected to move into a newly created administration role focused on a security initiative called SHIELD of the Americas. The House has blocked a measure to limit President Trump's war powers in Iran a day after a similar measure failed in the Senate. NPR's Claudia Grasal is reports the vote put lawmakers on record six days into the war. War powers debates are nothing new since the Cold War. Presidents of both parties have asserted the right to order limited strikes without congressional sign-off. House Speaker Mike Johnson said blocking further operations in Iran now would have been a, quote, dangerous gambit. It would have been a very serious misstep by Congress. And I'm grateful that that resolution failed. Both GOP-led chambers blocked the bill largely along party lines. In the House, Kentucky Republican Thomas Massey and California Democrat Rokana teamed up again to force the vote.

2:06Only one other Republican, Ohio Congressman Warren Davidson, joined Massey to advance the resolution. Democrats saw four defections, including Mainz Jared Golden and Henry Quayar of Texas, who sided with the GOP. Claudia D'Sullis and Pierre News, the Capitol. A man who received a presidential pardon for storming the U.S. Capitol and assaulting police on January 6, 2021, has been sentenced to life in prison on new criminal charges. NPR's Tom Driesbach reports the defendant was convicted of child sexual abuse. Andrew Paul Johnson repeatedly abused two children when they were 11 and 12 years old. And some of that abuse occurred after President Trump pardoned Johnson for his January 6th case and released him from prison. Trump argued the Capitol riot defendants were treated unfairly. Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, said Trump bears some responsibility for Johnson's crimes. It was only because Donald Trump let him out of prison that he was able to continue his

3:09sickening pattern of child sexual abuse. Now he's going back to prison, this time for life. The White House did not respond to NPR's requests for comment on Johnson. Tom Driesbach and Pierre News. This is NPR. The Department of Health and Human Services, as 53 medical schools across the country, have agreed to require students to complete 40 hours of nutrition education. The initiative is aimed at fighting chronic disease, which affects roughly 60% of people in the United States. Currently, the National Academy of Sciences recommends medical schools provide at least 25 hours of nutrition training. The government in the Democratic Republic of Congo says at least 200 people have been killed in a landslide at a mine. The mine produces about 15% of the world's coal-tanned, used for smart phones and other technology. NPR's Immanuel Aikenwatu reports. Dozens of children were among the dead, killed by a landslide at the Rabaya mine after

4:14heavy rains. Fatal incidents are common in the DRC. One of the most mineral-rich countries in the world, where international corporations have major investments, but where child labor, exploitative and unsafe conditions are systemic. The Rabaya mine was on a list of assets recently offered by the DRC government to the U.S. as part of a mineral deal with the Trump administration. The mine is controlled by the M23 rebel group, which has taken over much of eastern DRC. This week, the U.S. government sanctioned neighboring Rwanda's military for actively supporting, training and fighting alongside the M23 rebel group. Immanuel Aikenwatu, NPR News, Lagos. Stocks closed sharply lowered today on Wall Street. The Dow was down 784 points, the Nasdaq down 58, the S&P 500 fell 38. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News, in Washington.