Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dua-Lisa Kautel. President Trump has announced a series of military strikes on ISIS targets in northwest Nigeria. NPR's Tamara Keith reports the action was taken in cooperation with the Nigerian government.
President Trump first drew attention to Nigeria last month with a series of social media posts, including this video. In a post announcing the strikes, Trump wrote, quote, Merry Christmas to all, including the dead terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.
In his own post, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth thanked the Nigerian government for its cooperation and said there would be more to come. Tamara Keith, NPR News.
Nigeria's foreign ministry said it provided the U.S. with intelligence on ISIS extremists ahead of the Christmas Day strikes, but said it is not to do with religion. It is protecting Nigerians and innocent lives. The White House says more than 300,000 federal employees will be out of the government by year's end.
And Piers Andrea Hsu reports that's more than double the average of the past five years.
This year, the Trump administration shuttered offices, fired tens of thousands of people, and paid far more to quit. President Trump says he's ridding the country of waste, fraud, and abuse. But Max Steyer, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, says Trump is turning the government into one that serves the private interests of those in power, not the public good.
I think we are in a battle of narrative. I think that if you look at the facts and if you look at the impact of the actions of this administration, this is a horror show.
In a statement, the White House told NPR Trump's only motivation is, quote, improving the lives of the American people and making the country greater than ever before. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.
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Chapter 2: What military actions did President Trump announce regarding ISIS in Nigeria?
In January, more accurate numbers will be released about the biggest holiday spending. But NPR's retail correspondent Alina Selyuk says so far, all signs point to a surprisingly big year considering all the tariffs.
For how much we've talked about tariffs, with all the delays and changes, they did not disrupt the holiday season as much as feared. We saw Black Friday set a record, then Cyber Monday set a spending record. Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, saw people spending over $10 million every minute on the evening of Cyber Monday.
MasterCard, which tracks spending online and in stores, estimates that spending grew nearly 4% in November and December.
She adds, so far, it's been growing wages fueling much of the shopping. But one big thing to watch in the New Year's is the job market. This is NPR News from New York. China has announced sanctions on several American defense companies over arms sales to Taiwan.
Ashish Valentine reports any assets these companies have in China will be frozen and Chinese companies are forbidden from doing business with them. The sanctions hit Northrop Grumman Boeing's branch in St. Louis, and several other companies.
The sanctions hit Northrop Grumman, Boeing's branch in St. Louis, and several other companies. China's foreign ministry said they were retaliation for an $11 billion arms sale the U.S. recently signed with Taipei. It urged the U.S. to stop dangerous arms sales to Taiwan, which Beijing claims is its own territory.
The package, which needs to be cleared by Congress, includes long-range weapon systems like the HIMARS and ATAKAMS that the U.S. has been sending to Ukraine, and a billion dollars worth of drones. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense praised the U.S. for helping it build strong deterrent power. For NPR News, I'm Ashish Valentine.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un announced an increase in its production of missiles and artillery shells while visiting factories in his country's South Hamgyong province. This is according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA. and is not independently verified.
Images released this week by KCNA also showed pictures of what its state media described as a 8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine. This is reportedly the first reveal of what appears to be a completed hull of a nuclear submarine. This is NPR News.
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