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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.
Chapter 2: What military actions are being scrutinized by Congress?
Congressional leaders from both parties are scrutinizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for military strikes on alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean. During an Oval Office news conference today, President Trump defended the operations and again threatened a land invasion of Venezuela.
I think you're going to find that there's a very receptive ear to doing exactly what they're doing, taking out those boats.
Chapter 3: How is the USDA handling SNAP funding issues with states?
And very soon we're going to start doing it on land too, because we know every route, we know every house, we know where they manufacture this crap, we know where they put it all together.
Some lawmakers have expressed concerns about a double strike in September that killed survivors after an initial attack. Meanwhile, today, the Pentagon's inspector general said Hegseth's sharing of secret information on Signal about U.S. airstrikes in Yemen in March could have placed American forces in harm's way.
That's according to a person familiar with the investigation not authorized to speak publicly. Hegseth told the inspector general that the investigation was political. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says her agency will cut off funding to run SNAP food assistance for more than 20 Democratic-led states that have not turned over SNAP recipients' personal data.
Chapter 4: What new evidence has emerged regarding Jeffrey Epstein's properties?
As NPR's Jude Jaffe-Block reports, those states have been resisting the demands for months, arguing they violate federal law.
In October, a federal judge agreed the administration's demand was likely unlawful and blocked USDA from withholding SNAP funds from states that did not turn over their data. But last week, USDA doubled down and sent a new request to those states. Rollins says their administrative SNAP funding is on the line.
As of next week, we have begun and will begin to stop moving federal funds into those states until they comply. The renewed data demand includes SNAP participants' names, social security numbers, birthdates, home address, household members, income information, and immigration status. Jude Jaffe-Block, NPR News.
Democratic lawmakers have released new images and videos from one of Jeffrey Epstein's island properties today. As NPR's Rachel Triesman reports, the images appear to add no new or revealing information about Epstein or the trafficking of underage girls.
The footage was taken by U.S. Virgin Island authorities in 2020, the year after Epstein's death.
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Chapter 5: What updates are there on the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?
It shows the pool, as well as several bedrooms, bathrooms, and common spaces in one of several estates where Epstein is alleged to have abused and trafficked scores of underage girls. The rooms are furnished with writing and decor on the walls, but no people inside. Democrats unveiled the photos as they try to keep pressure on the Justice Department to release the full Epstein files.
President Trump signed a measure compelling it to do so, with exceptions, by mid-December. Rachel Treisman, NPR News.
U.S. stocks rose near their record levels today. The S&P 500 gained three-tenths of a percent near its all-time high. The Dow climbed eight-tenths of a percent.
Chapter 6: How are mass evictions affecting communities in Lagos, Nigeria?
You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Malaysia is resuming the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board. Texas-based Ocean Infinity will conduct the deep-sea hunt under a no-find, no-fee contract with Malaysia's government. The firm first searched for the plane in 2018 but found nothing.
Close to 10,000 people have been evicted from waterfront communities in Lagos, Nigeria. Slum communities in Africa's most populous city have suffered mass evictions that are often illegal, human rights groups say, to make way for luxury developments, as NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu reports.
We've just been witnessing one of the largest and most violent mass demolitions this year in Lagos. Bulldozers have been crushing thousands of homes and businesses over the last month at a waterfront community called Oworonshoki. Residents have been searching the rubble for the few belongings that they can salvage.
This morning, police and armed men came and torched many of the destroyed structures and even burnt heaps of belongings that the residents had scraped together. These residents lived on what the government and a local traditional ruler here considers prime real estate.
The community had taken them to court and had won injunctions preventing any demolitions without first being consulted and rehoused. But the demolitions continued regardless. Emmanuel Akimotu, NPR News, Lagos.
A raccoon broke into a closed Virginia liquor store and drank alcohol over the weekend. An animal control officer says the thoroughly drunk raccoon was found passed out in the store's bathroom. The officers say the masked bandit sobered up after a few hours.
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Chapter 7: What unusual incident occurred at a Virginia liquor store?
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