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Live from NPR in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. The House Oversight Committee [监管委员会] attempted to question Ghislaine Maxwell today about her time with convicted [被判有罪的] sex offender [性罪犯] Jeffrey Epstein. The hearing [听证会] was virtual [线上进行] since she's serving 20 years in prison for sex trafficking [性贩卖]. Committee Chairman James Comer says she wouldn't talk. As expected, Ghislaine Maxwell took the fifth [宪法第五修正案，即保持沉默不自证其罪的自由] and refused to answer any questions. This obviously is very disappointing [令人失望的]. We had many questions to ask about the crimes she and Epstein committed, as well as questions about potential co-conspirators [共谋者]. We sincerely want to get to the truth of the American people and justice for the survivors. That's what this investigation is about. Comer says the hearings into Epstein will continue. He says the questioning of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State [国务卿] Hillary Clinton will be made public. The Clintons are asking to testify publicly rather than be deposed [作证] in private.
A spokesperson for King Charles says Buckingham Palace [白金汉宫] is ready to support British police in any investigation into the king's brother. NPR's Fatima El-Khasa reports there are allegations the former Prince Andrew passed on confidential trade information to Jeffrey Epstein. Charles, how long have you known about Andrew and Andrew? After being heckled [发出嘘声] again about his brother Andrew's friendship with the convicted sex offender, King Charles has now released a statement saying that the king has made clear, quote, in words and through unprecedented [史无前例的] actions [此处指的是剥夺andrew的皇室头衔], his profound [深重的] concerns over allegations that continue to come to light about his brother. The statement says that if approached by British police as part of their investigation into the disgraced [不光彩的] former prince, Buckingham Palace stands ready to support them. It adds that the king and queen's thoughts and sympathies [同情] have been and remain with victims of all forms of abuse [虐待]. Fatima El-Khasaab, London.
The Trump administration is fighting a court order to create housing for homeless veterans [老兵] in Los Angeles. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports the VA [department of veteran affairs，老兵事务部] has appealed [上诉] the ruling in a class action suit [集体诉讼] for the second time. Los Angeles has the country's most homeless veterans and homeless vets won a class action lawsuit in federal court two years ago, ordering the VA to build housing inside the huge VA campus in West L.A. The Biden administration appealed, but the vets won again in the ninth U.S. circuit [第九巡回法庭] last year. Now the Trump administration is appealing that ruling. Mark Rosenbaum is a lawyer for the plaintiffs [原告]. Now this administration owns veteran homelessness. It's fighting our nation's veterans. It's going to a federal court and saying that veterans, unhoused disabled veterans, cannot call upon [召唤] their government to house unhoused veterans on veteran property. The Departments of Justice and VA declined to comment.
On Wall Street, just before the close, the Dow is up 20 points.
Public school teachers are on strike [罢工] in San Francisco. They want higher wages [工资], better health benefits, and more special needs resources. This is the first teacher strike there in nearly 50 years. In New York City, more than 10,000 nurses have reached an agreement with two major hospital systems to end their strike. The walkout began January 12th over staffing levels and workplace safety. The strike continues at New York Presbyterian [长老教会（医院）].
Academic programs aimed at helping people navigate midlife transitions are on the rise. NPR's Alison Aubrey reports. The first step to any transition is a little introspection [自我审视]. Who am I now? Or who do I want to become? Chip Conley, founder of the Modern Elder Academy, says these are common questions as we age. I think of midlife as not a crisis [危机], but a chrysalis [蚕蛹]. It's that middle stage between caterpillar [毛毛虫] and butterfly [蝴蝶]. You're letting go [放手] of some things, and something else is being created at the same time. His academy offers a quiz online to help kickstart a path forward. With a demographic [人种构成] shift underway, there's a growing number of midlife transition programs from community colleges to universities and retreat-style [静修式的] vacations [度假] that are part of a transformational travel trend where people spend vacation time to invest in self-improvement.
The outdoor sportswear company Eddie Bauer filed for bankruptcy [破产] protection today. It began as a Seattle fishing shop in 1920. It grew to hundreds of stores and outfitted [提供服装] the first American to climb Mount Everest [珠穆朗玛峰].
