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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theschmidt.org.
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens.
Chapter 2: What decisions did the Supreme Court make regarding Texas' congressional map?
The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for Texas to use its newly redrawn congressional map in the 2026 midterm elections. As NPR's Hansi Lewong reports, the decision boosts the Republican Party's chances of keeping control of the House of Representatives.
This final Supreme Court decision means that next year's midterm election in Texas will be held using a congressional map that could help Republicans pick up five more House seats. The ruling comes after President Trump pushed Texas and other Republican-led states to draw new voting districts to help the GOP win.
Chapter 3: What were the implications of the military strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean?
A lower court blocked Texas' redrawn map after finding its challengers are likely to prove in a trial that the map violates the Constitution by discriminating against voters based on their race. That's because multiple top Republican lawmakers made public statements suggesting they passed it to get rid of existing districts where Black and Latino voters together make up the majority.
The congressional gerrymandering fight now continues in other states. A federal court hearing on California's new map is set for this month. Anzila Wong, NPR News.
Chapter 4: How is Meta changing its workforce and focus in light of AI advancements?
The U.S. military has struck yet another small boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people. That attack came amid a briefing on another strike in the Caribbean. As NPR's Sam Greenglash reports, congressional lawmakers have seen a video of the September strike that killed survivors aboard an alleged drug boat off Venezuela.
Chapter 5: What recent developments occurred regarding the Justice Department's case against Letitia James?
The video was shown to the top Republicans and Democrats on the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees. Representative Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said the video of the strike showed two individuals on a largely destroyed vessel, which he says violates the laws of armed conflict.
What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Republican Tom Cotton said he did not believe the second strike was illegal. I didn't see anything disturbing about it.
Chapter 6: Why are healthcare costs expected to rise for Americans in the upcoming year?
What's disturbing to me is that millions of Americans have died from drugs being run to America by these cartels. President Trump told reporters he would be willing to release video of the strike. Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington.
Meta is expected to cut up to 30% of the workers in its Metaverse unit. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, the tech giant is spending heavily on artificial intelligence.
When Facebook changed its name to Meta in 2021, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said it was a way to reframe the company's ambitions in what's known as the Metaverse. But that reality never came to pass, even if the name change stuck. Now, as the AI boom continues, Meta executives are set to slash staff on its virtual reality product, Meta Horizon Worlds, and its Quest VR headset.
A Meta official confirmed the expected cuts to NPR after Bloomberg first reported it. Zuckerberg said in a social media post that Meta will be putting new energy into developing AI glasses.
Chapter 7: What unusual incident occurred involving a stolen Fabergé pendant in New Zealand?
Meta also has committed to spending tens of billions of dollars on new AI data centers, despite concerns that Silicon Valley is overbuilding AI infrastructure. Bobby Allen, NPR News.
U.S. futures are flat and after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR. The Justice Department has failed to get a new indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James citing alleged mortgage fraud. DOJ returned to a grand jury in Virginia after a judge dismissed previous charges against James and former FBI Director James Comey.
Both cases were deemed failed indictments because the prosecutor who filed them was illegally appointed. The murder of UnitedHealthcare's CEO a year ago has put a spotlight on frustrations over the high cost of U.S. healthcare. NPR's Maria Aspin has more.
The costs of healthcare are set to skyrocket next year for tens of millions of people on Obamacare. They're also going up for the many more who get health insurance through their employers. Now the companies and investors who profit from this business are also struggling financially. Shares in UnitedHealth Group,
the massive for-profit company that owns UnitedHealthcare, have plunged 45 percent in the past year. Katherine Hempstead is a policy officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. I think right now we're really going off the rails and we're having, you know, lots and lots of problems in every segment of the business.
As she points out, if even the people making money from this health care system aren't happy with it, how sick is it? Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York.
In New Zealand, police have recovered a limited edition Fabergé pendant that had been stolen from a jewelry store in Auckland last week. The suspect was arrested minutes after the theft inside the store but swallowed the jewelry. He was kept in police custody until the item could be retrieved naturally. This is NPR News.
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