Congress Votes On Aid, Auto Workers Vote On Unionizing, New Melatonin Guidelines

is letting the House vote on aid to Ukraine.

We expect votes on assistance to U.S. allies this afternoon over the objections of Republicans,

including Marjorie Taylor Greene.

There's already teed up a measure to oust the speaker.

What to watch?

But also...

VW workers in Chattanooga have been deciding over the last three days whether to join the

UAW.

They've said no twice over the last decade.

We have the latest results.

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it's not over yet.

The House is voting today on aid for Ukraine as part of a larger package to support U.S.

allies, and it could cost Speaker Mike Johnson.

And I'm going to allow an opportunity for every single member of the House to vote their

conscience and their will on this.

And I think that's the way this institution is supposed to work.

And I'm willing to take personal risk for that, because we have to do the right thing.

And history will judge us.

That's enough of his fellow Republicans have signed on to an effort that could remove him

from the speakership.

And PR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales joins us.

Claudia, thanks so much for being with us.

What changed?

Johnson was opposed without assurances of new U.S. border policy changes being attached

to this legislation.

It was that reason he refused to take up a Senate bipartisan bill, because it did not

have those changes.

But we've since learned that Johnson changed his position after intelligence briefings

and extensive prayer.

Here he is earlier this week talking about the risks if Ukraine is defeated by Russian

President Vladimir Putin.

I think he might go to the Balkans next.

I think he might have a showdown with Poland or one of our NATO allies.

So now Johnson is facing threats from members of his own party to resign or asking him to

resign or these threats that he could be forced down.

to vacate.

And she could take additional steps to force a vote because of this Ukraine aid getting

on the floor.

This has been a red line for her.

Also, she's had two more Republicans join her to co-sponsor that effort, Thomas Massey

of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona.

This could be the vote she needs to force him out of office.

But again, she has not forced this vote yet.

And it is possible Democrats step in to save Johnson.

in the first place, didn't they?

And this aid also includes aid to Israel and allies in the Indo-Pacific.

And they would not be getting votes today if Democrats had not stepped in.

Here's Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries talking to reporters yesterday.

American people to be processed and considered on the House floor.

a procedural rule passed to allow votes on this bill today.

And Jeffries defended Johnson's role as well, saying that he played a bipartisan role to

get this done.

This is very different from what we saw when House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted.

Democrats railed against McCarthy.

And that is not the case here.

In fact, Jeffries earlier this year said it was possible Democrats would protect Johnson

if he put foreign aid on the floor.

And he was asked about this again yesterday and said the caucus would have to have a discussion.

But he did note this aid needed to pass in totality first.

They reauthorized the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, ahead of a critical

deadline.

And they're hoping to work through the weekend to take up these foreign aid bills, assuming

the House passes them.

Claudia, thanks so much for being with us.

workers at a plant in Chattanooga have voted overwhelmingly to join the union.

Stephen Bissaha of the Gulf States Newsroom spent the night at an election result watch

party with workers.

He joins us now from Chattanooga.

Stephen, thanks for being with us.

From the very beginning, there was a lot of excitement in the air, along with some tension

and anxiety over how it was going to go.

That quickly broke when the ballot counting started coming in Friday night.

Because union, they grabbed onto a quick lead and held onto it by a wide margin the whole

time.

Robert Crum has been at Volkswagen for 12 years, and he voted for the union in two previous

elections that both failed.

So how does it feel to finally be a union member?

Yeah, it feels really, really good.

More of a surreal moment.

Would Volkswagen fight this union election, this win?

This is the only Volkswagen plant in the world without some form of worker representation,

so working with unions is the norm.

But at the same time, they've pushed back at past attempts to unionize this facility.

This time around, workers say Volkswagen has been pretty neutral, and shortly after the

count ended, workers were all opening up their phones to read this email from Volkswagen,

noting that, yes, workers had voted to unionize and thanking workers for their vote.

So still seemingly pretty neutral.

But the real test is going to be seeing how negotiations go for the first contract.

really builds a ton of momentum for that, and importantly, it's proof that it's possible

to even do this in the South.

Here's UAW President Sean Fain at the watch party.

They said non-unionized autoworkers didn't have it in them.

But you all said, watch this!

and there's lots of similarities to this plant.

Both are large with several thousand workers, and workers I talked to at Mercedes are also

pretty fired up.

The UAW said well more than a majority of workers at Mercedes signed union cards and

used similar language when describing this Volkswagen plant where, again, they won.

send out this joint statement speaking out against the union and really sending out this

warning message saying that they fear unionizing could cost the South jobs.

Stephen, thanks so much for being with us.

They call for child deterrent packaging and other safety measures.

In recent years, nearly 11,000 kids have visited the emergency room after taking it.

Here to tell us more is NPR's Maria Godoy.

Hi, Aisha.

Why are they acting now?

trade group for dietary supplement makers.

Steve Mister is the group's CEO, and he told me they've had a task force working on this

for about a year, and there are really two issues here.

One is that the number of really young kids accidentally taking melatonin has skyrocketed

in recent years.

Mister says this has coincided with an increased sales.

as a sleep aid.

A recent study found nearly one in five school-age kids and adolescents are now using it on a

regular basis.

The guidelines address both of these issues.

actually mean?

And it's specifically for melatonin that's sold in flavored form, so gummies and chewables

that might be appealing to kids, especially little ones who might think it's candy or

even vitamins.

And the guidelines also call for labels that clearly warn that melatonin can make you drowsy

and should only be used with adult supervision and kept out of the reach of children.

And it's only meant for occasional use, which is a point a lot of pediatricians have

been making.

especially not long term, and especially with the youngest kids.

So there really is no guidelines for dosing, like when to give it or how much.

It's possible for kids to take too much, which can lead to severe headaches, stomach

pains, dizziness, and extreme drowsiness.

There's also concerns about how much melatonin is in a given supplement.

Some studies have found that some supplements contained much more melatonin than what was

listed on the label, although the industry disputes those findings.

Should they not use melatonin at all?

off screens at least an hour before bedtime, using blackout shades and noise cancelling

machines or earplugs, that kind of thing.

Dr. Nia Hurd-Garris with Northwestern University and Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

says parents should definitely talk to their kids' pediatricians before giving them melatonin,

especially if they're considering using it in the youngest kids, like preschoolers, because

again, it's easy to give them too much.

And even in older kids, she says melatonin use should be just very occasional.

you to be using it.

What's going on?

If it's once a year, you know, once every four or five months, maybe that's less of

a red flag.

Don't give it for more than three days at a time and look for a product that is tested

by a third party like NSF or U.S. Pharmacopeia so that you've got some guarantee of what's

in it.

I'm Scott Sott.

It was directed by Andrew Craig.

Hynes, and Joby Tenseko.

Sarah Oliver is our executive producer.

Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor.

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