Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a defense forum at the Ronald Reagan Library last night that the Trump administration's strikes on alleged drug traffickers will continue.
These narco-terrorists are the al-Qaeda of our hemisphere, and we are hunting them with the same sophistication and precision that we hunted al-Qaeda.
Democrats have called the military strikes illegal, and several have called for full video of the strikes to be released to the public. Hegseth was asked at the forum about reports that in one recent strike, he ordered that everyone on a boat in the Caribbean be killed.
Did you at any time say that everybody on board should be killed?
Does anybody here from the Washington Post? I don't know where you get your sources, but they suck. Of course not.
Hegseth says the strikes are part of the Trump administration's strategy to defend the Western Hemisphere. After two years of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, families in Bethlehem last night gathered to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree for the first time in two years. As NPR's Hadil al-Shalshi reports, the city hopes to bring back tourism that was lost during the war.
Christ shall reign.
Hundreds of people gathered in Manger Square in Bethlehem near the site where Christians believe Jesus was born. A prayer was read and cheers broke out as people stood around the giant Christmas tree. Bethlehem Mayor Maher Kanawati spoke. We will raise our voices with a message of peace that comes from the pain we experience, he said.
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Chapter 2: What military actions did Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discuss regarding drug traffickers?
Since the war in Gaza broke out, the Israeli military has ramped up its operations in the West Bank and restricted movement. contributing to a fall in tourism in Bethlehem. According to the local government, unemployment rose from 14% to 65%. Today, there is cautious hope that the new year will bring peace. Hadil Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
Congress is a step closer to attempting to alter a key set of numbers from the 2030 Census. NPR's Hansi Lo Wong reports those numbers influence how presidents and members of Congress are elected.
How many U.S. House seats and Electoral College votes each state gets for a decade is determined using a census count. The 14th Amendment requires that count to include the, quote, whole number of persons in each state. But the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee has advanced a bill that calls for excluding people living in the states without U.S.
citizenship, such as green card holders. During the last Congress, a similar bill passed the Republican-controlled House but never got a Senate vote. The current bill is making its way to a possible House floor vote months after President Trump put out a social media call for a, quote, new census that excludes people living in the states without legal status.
That kind of change would be unprecedented in U.S. history and likely be challenged in court. Hansi Luwong, NPR News, Washington.
This is NPR News in Washington. College football fans saw at least one major upset in last night's conference championship games. NPR's Matt Bloom has more.
Number three Georgia beat number 10 Alabama 28-7 in the Southeastern Conference Championship, earning the Bulldogs their 16th overall conference title. Georgia turned two game-changing plays into first-half touchdowns, with quarterback Gunnar Stockton throwing three touchdown passes. In the night's biggest upset, No. 2 Indiana topped No.
1 Ohio State 13-10 to win its first Big Ten championship since 1967. Duke earned its first outright Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1962 with a 27-20 win against No. 16 Virginia. All eyes now turn to the playoffs. Matt Bloom, NPR News.
There are critics of a huge new entertainment industry consolidation. Last week, Netflix settled a deal to buy Warner Brothers Discovery, which owns HBO Max. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in TV and film,
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