Blanche Confirmation Hearing, US and Strait of Hormuz, ICE Vehicle Stops
7/15/202613 min
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will be on Capitol Hill today for his high-stakes confirmation hearing to lead the Justice Department permanently.
President Trump has talked about the US fully controlling the Strait of Hormuz. But for the US military that means much more than imposing yet another blockade on the key waterway.
The third fatal ICE shooting in a week is now prompting a policy shift at the agency. According to Senator Angus King, ICE will now suspend most vehicle stops during enforcement operations.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Andrew Sussman, Anna Yukhananov, Alina Hartounian, Mohamad ElBardicy, Alice Woelfle, and Ziad Buchh.
It was produced by Paige Waterhouse and Nia Dumas.
Our director is Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Supervising Producer is Michael Lipkin.
(0:00) Introduction
(1:49) Blanche confirmation hearing
(5:38) US and the Strait of Hormuz
(9:32) ICE Vehicle stops
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsA Martinez· Host0:00
[intro music] Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faces a Senate confirmation hearing today.
Leila Fadel· Host0:05
Democrats accuse him of weaponizing the Justice Department for President Trump. A few Republicans have concerns about his track record. Does Blanche have the numbers?
A Martinez· Host0:14
I'm E Martinez, that's Leila Fadel, and this is Up First from NPR News. [intro music] A deal between the US and Iran was supposed to mean that the Strait of Hormuz is open for business. Now President Trump has ordered a blockade. He says the military will take control of the waterway, but is that possible without boots on the ground?
Leila Fadel· Host0:32
And ICE is putting a temporary pause on most traffic stops after agents shot and killed two people in a week. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.
Speaker 30:42
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Speaker 41:17
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Joanna Strober1:28
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