Chapter 1: What financial challenges are Midwest farmers facing in 2025?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. Farmers in the Midwest are crunching the numbers to see if President Trump's $12 billion aid package will keep them afloat next year. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports from South Dakota that many say they need financing now.
These bridge payments, as the administration is calling them, are meant to offset the effects of the president's trade war and tariffs that have left American soybeans here in the bins and not exported to China. The aid is expected to arrive by early March, but farmers like John Kipley say they need the money right now.
You can't take that to the bank and tell them that you're going to get this bridge payment. And they'll ask you how much. Nobody knows.
Kipley says banks won't lend because they know farmers will still be in the red next season.
Chapter 2: How is Canada attracting skilled foreign workers amidst U.S. immigration changes?
One estimate at a Farmers Union conference here showed that's the case for close to half of all the farms in South Dakota, where many family farms without capital could soon be out of business. Kirk Sigler, NPR News, here in South Dakota.
Canada is launching a sweeping new initiative in a bid to attract highly skilled foreign workers, including those holding H-1B visas in the U.S., As NPR's Jackie Northam reports, the move comes as the Trump administration tightens immigration laws.
Chapter 3: What new developments are there in the Jeffrey Epstein case?
The Canadian government has pledged roughly $1 billion over the next few years to recruit scientists, researchers and other specialists from all over the world. It's an effort to strengthen what it calls the country's innovation ecosystem and make its universities more competitive.
Ottawa is also introducing a fast-track program for people currently or previously holding a US H-1B visa, many of which are skilled tech workers. The Trump administration recently raised the fee for an H-1B visa to $100,000. Canadian universities have also been actively recruiting foreign-born professors and researchers from U.S. institutions. Jackie Northam, NPR News.
Chapter 4: How is Denmark addressing historical injustices against Indigenous women?
A federal judge has approved the release of grand jury materials from the 2019 sex trafficking case against the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department had requested the records be made public under a new law passed by Congress. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act passed by Congress last month compels the Justice Department to release by December 19th nearly all of the investigative files of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In response to a department request, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman has approved the release of grand jury materials from the investigation into Epstein by federal prosecutors in New York.
Epstein died in a federal lockup there in 2019 while awaiting trial. Now all three judges overseeing Epstein-related grand jury materials have signed off on making those records public. while also ensuring that victim-related personal information remains protected. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point for a third consecutive time today. This is NPR News from Washington. Denmark will compensate thousands of Indigenous women in Greenland over the cases of forcible contraception dating back to the 1960s.
Chapter 5: What controversy surrounds the FIFA World Cup match in Seattle?
The Danish health ministry said women who were given contraception against their knowledge or consent between 1960 and 1991 can apply for individual payouts of about $46,000. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. Many of the people were teenagers at the time. A FIFA World Cup game is already sparking controversy. Egypt and Iran are set to play in Seattle next June.
The date coincides with the city's annual Pride festivities, and organizers had previously planned for the match to be part of the celebration. NPR's Becky Sullivan has more.
Seattle's annual Pride Fest has long taken place the last weekend of June. Local organizers said a World Cup match set for Seattle that Friday would be a rare opportunity to make an impact on the subject of LGBTQ rights. But that was before FIFA announced which teams would play.
Egypt and Iran are two conservative countries in which LGBTQ people can face persecution, jail, or in Iran, sometimes the death penalty. Both countries' football federations have objected to the Pride festivities. They're raising complaints directly with FIFA, which did not respond to a request for comment.
Seattle organizers tell NPR they intend to move forward as planned with the Pride programming outside the stadium that day. Becky Sullivan in PR News.
A San Francisco woman gave birth inside a Waymo robo-taxi while on her way to the hospital. A spokesperson says the company's rider support team detected unusual activity inside the vehicle and alerted 911.
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Chapter 6: What unusual incident occurred involving a Waymo robo-taxi?
It arrived safely at the hospital before emergency services. This is NPR News.