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NPR News Now

NPR News: 12-12-2025 8PM EST

13 Dec 2025

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.098 - 25.149 Ryland Barton

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 Ryland Barton. After months of striking boats allegedly transporting drugs off the coast of Venezuela, President Trump is hinting that the U.S.

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25.169 - 27.051 Ryland Barton

could soon attack the country by land.

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27.233 - 42.375 Unknown

Every one of those boats you see get shot down, you just saved 25,000 American lives. But we knocked out 96 percent of the drugs coming in by water. And now we're starting by land. And by land is a lot easier. And that's going to start happening.

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42.636 - 62.694 Ryland Barton

The statement comes days after the U.S. seized an oil tanker in the Caribbean, saying it was illegally transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran. The U.S. has killed at least 87 people in strikes that have destroyed 23 alleged drug boats. This year's Nobel Peace Prize winner didn't make it in time to formally accept her prestigious prize at the Oslo ceremony.

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63.034 - 78.098 Ryland Barton

Getting out of the South American country was tough. Maria Corina Machado has been in hiding since President Nicolas Maduro declared victory in last year's election, widely deemed fraudulent. NPR's Kerry Kahn spoke with the man who helped the opposition leader get out of Venezuela.

Chapter 2: What recent actions has the U.S. taken against drug trafficking in Venezuela?

78.297 - 87.406 Brian Stern

Brian Stern runs Gray Bull Rescue with fellow U.S. military vets. They couldn't get Machado out by land, too many checkpoints, by sea it was.

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I didn't want a big giant boat with a lot of big engines that can go real fast and cut through the waves because that's what the narcos use and the U.S. military likes to blow them up. The U.S.

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97.015 - 109.828 Brian Stern

has struck nearly two dozen boats, killing at least 87 people, they allege are drug traffickers. Stern says U.S. officials knew when they were crossing and he says Machado toughed it out, better than his fellow military vets.

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We're all bitching and moaning, and it's cold, it's wet, we're hungry, we're tired, it's dark.

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115.755 - 124.746 Brian Stern

She didn't complain once. He thought she was dubbed the Iron Lady because of her solid convictions, but he says she's awesome. Carrie Kahn, NPR News.

124.986 - 139.593 Ryland Barton

A nonprofit group is suing President Trump and his administration, arguing his White House ballroom project hasn't gotten legally required approvals. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, the National Trust for Historic Preservation says is asking for a temporary halt to construction activity.

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The east wing of the White House was torn down to make way for President Trump's ballroom. And the work continues, even as no plans have been submitted to the relevant oversight bodies. Carol Quillen is president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

155.93 - 170.246 Carol Quillen

We feel like we have no choice here. We need to fulfill our mission. We need to speak on behalf of the American public. And we need to make the case that these processes are important. and that respecting them matters because our history matters.

170.586 - 181.079 Unknown

White House spokesman Davis Ingle says President Trump has full legal authority to beautify the White House, just as his predecessors did. Tamara Keith, NPR News.

Chapter 3: Who is Maria Corina Machado and why was she in hiding?

233.138 - 242.99 Jason Vandercoy

Vandercoy's farm is still dry, but some of his neighbors had to move their herds. Milk cows can get stressed out when their milking times change, he says.

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They love routine, they love schedules, and they don't like to be moved and trying to figure out a new facility or different feed. or even a different milking barn.

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256.532 - 266.723 Jason Vandercoy

Van der Kooij's farm is in the same area where tens of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes. For NPR News, I'm Anna King.

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271.588 - 293.184 Ryland Barton

Italian composer Ennio Morricone, who composed scores like The Good, Bad and the Ugly, will have his only opera performed for the first time. A theater in Naples will stage Partenope. 30 years after he wrote it, it's based on the legend of a siren who drowned after failing to enchant Ulysses, her body growing into the city of Naples, which is celebrating its 2500th anniversary this year.

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293.465 - 294.267 Ryland Barton

This is NPR.

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