In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your

podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Chicagoans are bracing for the

deployment of National Guard troops. Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker says troops from

Illinois and Texas's National Guard have already arrived and will begin operations in the city later this week.

He says Trump is using troops as political pawns and is calling on citizens to document their activities.

What we can't do is just sit idly by while these things are occurring, and that's why we've called on people to take action, like

creating evidence for our court cases by pulling out their iPhones and their Android phones and

filming everything. President Trump characterizes Chicago as a war zone and has said he would

be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act. That allows a president to dispatch the military

in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law. Illinois

sued to block Trump's move. A judge gave the administration two days to respond to it. A new White

House memo is raising questions about whether furloughed federal workers will receive back pay after the government

shutdown ends. From member station WAMU, Jenny Abamu reports. The White House is making the case

that hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers are not automatically guaranteed back pay.

The memo seeks to reinterpret a 2019 law passed during Trump's first term to protect

furloughed workers, like Sarah Cobran at the National Institutes of Health.

She still wants Democrats to hold the line.

Am I afraid of that consequence?

Yeah, of course.

...