Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.
Chapter 2: What recent military actions has President Trump announced regarding Venezuela?
President Trump is announcing an escalation in U.S. military operations off the coast of Venezuela.
We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized, actually. And other things are happening, so you'll be seeing that later, and you'll be talking about that later with some other people.
Chapter 3: What are the implications of the U.S. military strikes on drug trafficking vessels?
At the White House a short time ago, Trump did not say who owned the tanker. Trump's controversial U.S. military strikes on vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean have killed dozens of people accused of being part of drug trafficking schemes threatening the United States. Some legal experts say the strikes may violate international law.
Venezuela's de facto opposition leader in hiding, Maria Corina Machado, has expressed support for Trump's campaign, and that has drawn backlash in light of the Nobel Committee's decision to award her the Peace Prize. She was unable to make it to Oslo in time for the ceremony today. Her daughter accepted the award on her behalf.
A federal judge in Manhattan has approved the release of grand jury materials from the 2019 sex trafficking case against convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department had requested the records be made public under a new law passed by Congress requiring DOJ to disclose the Epstein files. 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 Department of Homeland Security plans to buy its own fleet of six Boeing 737 jets to use for deportation flights. Here's NPR's Joel Rose.
DHS will spend $140 million to buy the six Boeing 737 jets, according to the Washington Post, which was first to report on the contract. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has typically relied on charter planes to carry out deportation flights. Now, ICE is poised to operate its own fleet, with planes purchased from a Virginia-based company called Daedalus Aviation, according to the Post.
DHS has not confirmed any details about the contract, but spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the move would save taxpayers money, in part by allowing ICE to use, quote, more efficient flight patterns. The Trump administration has operated more than 1,700 deportation flights since taking office, according to an independent monitor, the most in at least five years.
That's Joel Rose. It's NPR News. The Federal Reserve's lowered its key interest rate for a third time since September by a further quarter percentage point. Here's Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
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