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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump appears to be

walking back his threats to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell. NPR Scott Horsley reports.

This is part of an ongoing pressure campaign by the White House, which wants the Fed to lower interest

rates. Trump says he talked about

firing Powell with a group of GOP lawmakers last night. Now, it's legally doubtful. He has the

authority to do that, but just the news he was thinking about it caused a brief sell-off in the

stock market and the president quickly back down. That's NPR, Scott Horsley reporting. A recent

decision by the Supreme Court says a president does not have the

authority to remove Fed officials at will. Jerome Powell, who was appointed Fed chair by Trump in 2017,

has said that the president's policies could lead to higher inflation and slower economic growth.

The president has signed legislation that

increases the penalties for fentanyl traffickers. It also adds more chemicals to the list of banned

substances. NPR's Brian Mann reports during the signing ceremony today, Trump repeated false

claims about the Biden administration's handling of the fentanyl crisis.

The bipartisan bill Trump signed adds new chemicals similar to fentanyl to the list of federally banned substances

and expands the range of smuggling offenses that would trigger 10-year mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of trafficking.

As if today, all fentanyl-related substances will be banned forever, and those who traffic

in these deadly poisons will be put behind bars for a very long period of time.

During the bill signing, Trump claimed former President Joe Biden did nothing to stop fentanyl

...