Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton.

President Trump says the U.S. will spend $700 million to support coal-fired power plants.

Today we're officially invoking the Defense Production Act to save 13 coal plants in West Virginia,

Kentucky, North Carolina, Indiana, Tennessee, Arizona, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Trump cited the Cold War era national defense law to prop up existing coal plants and build new

plants in Alaska and West Virginia. If built, they would be the first new U.S. coal plants since

2013. Environmentalists say the plan would put polluters first and jeopardize Americans' health.

During Trump's second term, the U.S. has lost 1,800 coal mining jobs or 4% of the workforce,

according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At least 4.3 million Americans have lost food

assistance benefits from the SNAP program since last year. As NPR's Maria Godoy reports,

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rawlins, faced tough questioning on Capitol Hill today about that drop.

Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee grilled Rollins about why so many people have lost

access to a program that's a key safety net against hunger. Rollins said the drop is due to a better economy and a crackdown on fraud.

But Ohio Democratic Representative Chantel Brown pointed to a recent report showing that

more than 700,000 children have lost SNAP benefits as a result of President Trump's

One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Madam Secretary, millions of Americans are going hungry, and you're saying it's a success story.

Rollins countered.

I think that you want more people on government programs.

Committee members also asked Rollins about rising farm input costs and the threat posed by screw worm.

Maria Godoy and PR News.

Elevated mortgage rates are dragging down the spring home buying season, according to

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