What recent military actions have escalated U.S. involvement in Venezuela?
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Critics say a recent CIA strike in Venezuela is dragging the U.S. deeper into conflict. President Trump revealed new details this week, saying the operation targeted a dock where drugs were allegedly being loaded on boats. Philip Mudd served as deputy director of both the CIA's Counterterrorism Center and the FBI's National Security Branch.
The thing from the CIA perspective, the questions I would have would be duration. Are you going to continue to do this? Frequency, are you going to do this every day, every week? Variety of targets. If you want to signal to the government, are you going to go beyond this narrow range of narcotics targets?
And then are you going to signal by your contacts with like-minded countries, countries that agree with the United States, that you're going to up the pressure and that the U.S. is not the only game in town? In other words, that there's a broad coalition of people
The strike is the first known U.S. military action inside Venezuela marking an escalation in Trump's campaign against the Maduro government. Flu cases are surging across the nation. NPR's Gabriela Emanuel reports the CDC has released new numbers on the spread.
The CDC estimates there have been 7.5 million cases so far this season, up from 4.6 million just the week before, and already more than 3,000 deaths. Lisa Groskopf is a medical officer at the CDC. Probably the most important thing is that if you haven't gotten a vaccine is to get one. It is by no means too late.
Now, NPR did get a follow-up email from a different CDC spokesperson saying vaccines are a personal choice and that people should speak with their health care providers about the risks and benefits. Adult flu vaccination rates in the U.S. are just above 40 percent. Gabriela Emanuel, NPR News.
Stocks on Wall Street opened lower on this final trading day of 2025. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow slipped about 90 points in early trading.
Trading is expected to be light on this New Year's Eve as investors count their annual gains. The S&P 500 index is up about 17 percent this year. New applications for unemployment benefits dipped last week as 199,000 people applied for jobless aid. The numbers suggest that layoffs remain uncommon even as hiring has slowed.
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