Chapter 1: What recent actions has the U.S. taken regarding Venezuela?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. President Trump says the U.S. has seized a Venezuelan oil tanker. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports the Navy is pressuring Venezuela with a fleet assembled in the Caribbean.
President Trump says the tanker was very large, and he promises more news about Venezuela soon. This comes on top of the biggest U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean in decades and threats to Venezuela's leader. The U.S. has offered a $50 million bounty for information leading to the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro, who the U.S. claims is a narco-trafficker. Trump has said the U.S.
may soon begin striking targets inside Venezuela's borders. Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, with about one million barrels produced daily. U.S. sanctions aim to strangle Venezuela's oil revenue, and the country is selling what it can at a steep discount, mostly to China. Quill Lawrence, NPR News.
A new report finds public trust in the accuracy of monthly jobs numbers and other key statistics produced by the U.S. government is on the decline. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports the finding comes after President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics this summer. after a weaker-than-expected jobs report.
The American Statistical Association's report finds a share of adults in the U.S. who tend to trust the federal government's economic indicators, health data, and other statistics declined between June and September, particularly among people with a graduate or professional degree and people who identify as white and not Hispanic.
Nancy Potok co-wrote the report and says staffing cuts at statistical agencies, funding shortfalls, and Trump administration statements questioning the credibility of federal data are hurting the government's ability to produce reliable information.
Congress, the executive branch, really have to prioritize investment in modernizing this system right away if this system is to survive and do its job.
POTAC says many of the ongoing challenges facing statistical agencies have gotten worse this past year. Anzila Wong, NPR News.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels say they have captured a strategic town in eastern Congo today. Conflict in the region is spreading despite President Trump declaring an end to fighting at a ceremony in Washington last week, Emmett Livingstone reports.
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Chapter 2: How is public trust in U.S. government statistics changing?
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