Chapter 1: What challenges have Iranians faced under dictatorship?
For 47 years, Iranians have lived under a dictatorship many no longer want. Now the country may have reached a breaking point. Iranians have recognized that they need to take matters into their own hands, pushing back against authority. We ask three central questions about how Iran got here and what comes next. Listen to ThruLine on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar is running for governor of Minnesota. She announced her candidacy Thursday, giving Democrats a high-profile candidate after Tim Walz dropped his bid for a third term. Klobuchar is running in a state where President Trump's immigration crackdown is scrambling politics. Reporter Clay Masters is with Minnesota Public Radio.
The killings of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Preti have brought a lot of awareness to the way the president's immigration policies are being enforced. That seems to be helping Democrats, which could include Klobuchar. Locally here, a Republican running for governor, Chris Mattel, ended his governor run, calling what's happening in the Twin Cities and across the state an unmitigated disaster.
That's a Republican. Democrats here really haven't had a lot of power to do anything about ICE's presence in the state other than condemn it publicly.
Klobuchar's announcement came as the White House and Senate Democrats reached a spending deal that gives Congress time to debate curves on immigration enforcement operations. A bipartisan group of mayors calling for the federal government to roll back the immigration crackdown. Hundreds gathered in Washington for an annual mayoral conference.
Eve Zukoff of member station WBUR reports that many of them worry that their own cities could soon resemble Minneapolis.
Just ahead of the three-day conference, mayors released a statement calling for the Trump administration to end, quote, unnecessary chaos caused by ICE agents in Minneapolis. Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, a Republican who represents Burnsville, Minnesota, says residents are being harassed, intimidated, and cruelly treated.
People are afraid to leave their homes. to go to the grocery store and might never return and their children are left. It is horrific.
Asked for a comment about the mayor's call to dial back ICE action, the White House pointed to remarks Monday by Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt, who said Trump doesn't want to see people getting hurt or killed in the streets.
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Chapter 2: What recent political developments are happening in Minnesota?
But she blamed Democrats for their, quote, deliberate and hostile resistance. For NPR News, I'm Eve Zuckoff.
Another blast of Arctic air in store for much of the eastern U.S. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports on the forecast that's calling for dangerously cold temperatures, heavy snow and strong gusty winds.
The National Weather Service has winter storm advisories posted from the northern plains down the eastern seaboard and all the way to the Gulf Coast. The prolonged freeze further complicates efforts in parts of the South to recover from an ice storm that has made travel treacherous and coated trees and power lines.
By midday Thursday, more than 250,000 customers remained without electricity in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. Several states have deployed National Guard troops to help clear roads and get emergency supplies to communities stranded without power or water. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.
This is NPR. Venezuela's acting President Delce Rodriguez has signed a law that has opened the country's oil sector to privatization. Rodriguez signed the measure after Venezuela's National Assembly approved it earlier Thursday, reversing 20 years of state control of the oil industry. As the law was being passed, the Trump administration began easing sanctions on the Venezuelan energy sector.
MasterCard reported a strong fourth quarter as consumer and business spending remains healthy. NPR's Stephen Basahab reports that MasterCard's also optimistic about consumer spending for 2026.
On a call with investors, MasterCard executives described the American consumer as savvy and intentional. They're making the most of reward programs and shopping online for the best deals. What consumers are not doing is slowing down their spending, despite surveys showing low consumer sentiment.
The company's net revenue is $8.8 billion for the fourth quarter, up 18% from the same quarter in 2024. President Trump has been pushing for legislation to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. MasterCard executives warn that would lead to banks cutting off many customers from credit.
The Banking Industries Association has previously said that could stifle that strong consumer spending and maybe even lead to a recession. Stephen Masaha, NPR News.
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Chapter 3: How are immigration policies impacting local communities?
Powell's term ends in May, but he could remain on the board until 2028. I'm Jyle Snyder, NPR News.
On the TED Radio Hour, if you won the lottery, your life would be amazing, right?
So I think everyone's got a vision of what it's like to win the lottery in their head when they're playing. The reality, of course, is very different.
Ideas about making the most of what you've got and finding agency. Listen to the TED Radio Hour on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.