Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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On the web at theschmidt.org. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman.
Chapter 2: What recent actions has President Trump taken regarding Venezuela?
President Trump says he held a call with Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro as the Pentagon continues strikes in the Caribbean. As NPR's Luke Garrett reports, Trump continued to defend those strikes on alleged drug boats.
Trump told reporters he spoke with Maduro by phone, but did not say when. The U.S. military has carried out at least 21 strikes on what they say are drug boats in international waters, killing more than 80 people. When asked how the call went, Trump said...
I wouldn't say it went well or badly. It was a phone call.
Trump also said he wasn't aware of the controversy around Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to strike a boat for a second time that still had survivors on board, as NPR and others have reported. When asked about these reported orders by Hegseth, Trump said, He said he did not say that, and I believe him.
Trump said he had great confidence in Hegseth, but he'll look into the reports and he wouldn't have ordered a second strike himself. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has asked the country's president for a pardon. Netanyahu is facing charges of fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes. Empire's Daniel Estrin explains just what's at stake.
What he's interested in is staying in power, and if he is convicted of bribery and the other charges, it could mean the end of his political career. This is really an issue that is polarizing the country. There's a new poll out today that shows about half of Israelis who were questioned do not support a pardon for Netanyahu, and the other half either does support a pardon or doesn't know.
Opposition leaders are opposing a pardon without an admission of guilt and a withdrawal from political life. President Trump's MAGA movement has been rattled by internal conflicts in recent months. The rifts raise questions about the future of the Republican Party after Trump, around whom the GOP has reshaped itself. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben has more.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is the face of multiple fractures in the Republican Party. She recently unveiled the slogan AFAO for America First, America Only. Taylor Greene has opposed Trump's focus on foreign affairs like the attacks on Iran earlier this year. She is also one of several Republicans who led the charge to hold a congressional vote to release the Epstein files.
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