News Wrap: Trump says U.S. will stop bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen

In our news wrap Tuesday, President Trump says the U.S. will stop bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen, Russia and Ukraine traded attacks as Moscow claims it is committed to a pause in strikes later this week and the Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender people serving in the military while legal challenges play out.

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  • Amna Nawaz:

    In the day's other headlines: President Trump says the U.S. will stop bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen effective immediately. His administration has increased American airstrikes on the Iran-backed group since March in response to Houthi attacks on shipping in the region.

    The foreign minister of Oman said his nation helped broker the cease-fire, saying in a statement that it will ensure — quote — "freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping." In the Oval Office today, Trump said the Houthis simply don't want to continue the conflict.

    Donald Trump, President of the United States: The Houthis have announced that they are not — or they have been announced to us at least that they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want to fight. And we will honor that. And we will stop the bombings.

  • Amna Nawaz:

    That comes after the Israeli military announced it struck Houthi targets in Yemen for a second day in a row, this time disabling the country's main airport. Several power plants were also hit. It followed a Houthi missile strike on Israel's main airport on Sunday.

    Russia and Ukraine traded attacks today, even as Moscow says it remains committed to a pause in strikes later this week to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory Day over Nazi Germany. In Ukraine, a drone attack early this morning on the city of Kharkiv injured at least two people and started multiple fires, this as a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia forced all four airports near Moscow to temporarily suspend flights.

    In the meantime, more than 200 Ukrainian soldiers returned home in the latest prisoner swap between the two sides. Russia received the same number in an exchange mediated by the United Arab Emirates.

    Tens of millions of Americans are under flood watches tonight and into tomorrow amid a series of severe storms. Forecasters say heavy rain is threatening around 31 million people across multiple states, including Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. In the town of Brenham between Houston and Austin, officials say rising waters swept a 10-year-old girl off a bridge on Monday as she and her sister walked home from school. Officials say her body was recovered today.

    And the storms have also hammered the region with hail, severe winds and isolated tornadoes.

    The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender people serving in the military while legal challenges play out. The justices decided to lift a lower court ruling that put the policy on hold nationwide. The case stems from an executive order that Trump issued soon after taking office in January.

    In response to today's decision, LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal said the ban has — quote — "nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice." According to officials, transgender troops make up about 0.2 percent of the military.

    The Department of Homeland Security is offering a bit of flexibility when it comes to tomorrow's deadline for what's called REAL ID. Secretary Kristi Noem's told a congressional panel today that travelers who are not REAL ID-compliant will still be able to fly, but may face extra screening. Passports and tribal identification will also be accepted.

  • Kristi Noem, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary:

    What will happen tomorrow is, folks will come through the line and will issue their I.D. and show it. If it's not compliant, they may be diverted to a different line, have an extra step, but people will be allowed to fly.

  • Amna Nawaz:

    Real ID requirements were recommended by the 9/11 commission to set security standards for state-issued identification. In addition to domestic travel, they're needed to access certain federal buildings and facilities. They were supposed to take effect in 2008, but have been repeatedly delayed.

    Secretary Noem said today that more than 80 percent of travelers already have some form of Real ID, which feature a symbol in the top corner of the card, usually a star.

    The Department of Education has terminated a federal grant program that helps pay for children's programming that airs on PBS. The Ready to Learn grant has helped to fund shows like "Molly of Denali," "Work It Out Wombats!," and "Lyla in the Loop," among others. It's administered by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which manages federal funding for NPR and PBS, including for this program.

    Last week, President Trump issued an executive order that calls for a halt of CPB to public media. In a statement today about the children's programming cuts, the head of CPB said that — quote — "We will work with Congress and the administration to preserve funding for this essential program."

    On Wall Street today, stocks slipped again as more companies lay out the uncertainty caused by President Trump's tariffs. The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 400 points, or almost 1 percent. The Nasdaq fell around 150 points on the day. The S&P 500 also ended in negative territory.

    And this week, "Hamilton" became the first cast recording to spend 500 weeks on the billboard 200 record charts. The musical about America's founding fathers debuted on the charts back in October of 2015. It's another milestone for Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-, Grammy-, and Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece. And it comes just one month after the album was selected to be preserved in the Library of Congress in its first year of eligibility.

    Fun fact, the next longest show to stay within the Billboard 200 was "My Fair Lady" at 480 weeks.

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