Hegseth boat strike orders; Nationwide Guard taking pictures : NPR

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President Trump and his advisers met yesterday night to debate subsequent steps with Venezuela as tensions proceed to accentuate with the U.S. The Trump administration has confronted scrutiny over its strikes in opposition to what it alleges are drug boats touring from Venezuela to the U.S. These strikes have killed dozens of individuals. On Friday, The Washington Submit reported that U.S. forces struck a ship on Sept. 2, leaving survivors. Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly gave an order to kill these survivors. Some Congress members imagine this will represent a struggle crime.

• 🎧 Press secretary Karoline Leavitt yesterday did not deny Hegseth ordered the second strike, however stated he approved U.S. Navy Adm. Frank M. Bradley to take these actions, NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben tells Up First. NPR’s Tom Bowman spoke yesterday with a U.S. official who was not approved to talk publicly. This official disputed the White Home’s account, stating that Hegseth issued the command for “two strikes to kill” and two extra strikes to “sink the boat.”
• ➡️ Venezuelan exiles in America are amplifying a stress marketing campaign in opposition to Venezuelan chief Nicolas Maduro. Lots of these exiles reside in Doral, Fla., the place an estimated 2 in 5 individuals are from Venezuela and have tales of persecution.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will be a part of White Home envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow immediately for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They are going to talk about a U.S. peace plan geared toward ending the struggle in Ukraine.

• 🎧 Kushner participated in negotiations with a Ukrainian delegation in Florida over the weekend. His involvement in discussions in Russia considerably elevates his position, NPR’s Charles Maynes says. Maynes notes that this case is harking back to Kushner’s participation within the Gaza negotiations. With each Witkoff and Kushner within the Kremlin, European leaders are involved that the U.S. and Russia will in some way reduce offers over their heads.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan man accused of taking pictures two Nationwide Guard members final week in Washington, D.C., appeared to expertise a private disaster — not radicalization — within the years main as much as the assault. This perception comes from a refugee resettlement volunteer who labored intently with Lakanwal and his household over a number of years in Bellingham, Washington. The volunteer agreed to talk with NPR on situation of anonymity as a result of they concern for his or her security and the protection of others who work with the Afghan refugee group.

• 🎧 By 2023, after Lakanwal struggled to search out everlasting work and confronted cultural isolation, the volunteer described him as withdrawing, changing into extra remoted and behaving more and more erratically, NPR’s Brian Mann says. The volunteer says he by no means noticed or sensed any hazard from Lakanwal towards the group or the U.S. In Afghanistan, Lakanwal was a member of a paramilitary group referred to as Zero Unit that will go after Taliban fighters. The volunteer’s largest concern was that he was a hazard to himself. Mann says that the person’s account of Lakanwal’s conduct is supported by emails they shared, which present they raised issues about his psychological well being in January 2024.

An NPR investigation into Trajector, a Florida-based firm initially established to help disabled veterans, reveals that Trajector prioritizes aggressive debt assortment and maximizing income. The corporate is charging army veterans as much as $20,000 for help with incapacity claims, regardless of the VA stating this motion could also be unlawful and that such providers must be offered freed from cost.

Deep dive

The group Unbiased Middle believes that synthetic intelligence may very well be the important thing to disrupting the two-party system in American politics. Its objective is to elect a number of unbiased candidates to the Home of Representatives in 2026. By utilizing AI, it goals to determine districts the place unbiased candidates have an opportunity of success and uncover promising candidates. If they’ll win even a number of seats, it might forestall both social gathering from reaching a majority and upend the way in which the Home presently operates.

• ➡️ The Unbiased Middle goals to have round 10 candidates in place by spring, focusing on a win in at the very least half of the races. Adam Brandon, a senior adviser on the group, predicts this may encourage average partisans within the Home to change affiliations.
• ➡️ AI additionally supplies a great alternative to get a snapshot of the core points and issues of voters by monitoring what individuals are speaking about in actual time.
• ➡️ One criticism the group receives is that non-winning candidates on the poll affect which candidate wins — an thought often called “spoilers.” However Brett Loyd, who runs the nonpartisan polling and information agency overseeing the polling and analysis on the Unbiased Middle, argues that critics of independents moving into races have a vested curiosity within the present system.

Image present

Lego portraits of George Washington and President Trump adorn the home windows within the Inexperienced Room throughout a tour of the Christmas decorations contained in the White Home on Monday.

Michael Zamora/NPR

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Michael Zamora/NPR

White Home excursions are set to renew immediately, simply in time for the vacation season. The excursions have been on a three-month hiatus as a consequence of Trump’s estimated $300 million ballroom venture, which concerned the removing of the East Wing. In previous years, the excursions started within the East Wing, which was adorned throughout the holidays with decorations for its many guests to get pleasure from. Excursions will now enter and exit via the North Portico as an alternative. Yesterday, journalists previewed the decorations chosen by first woman Melania Trump to “honor the center of America,” in keeping with the White Home. The “Dwelling Is The place The Coronary heart Is” themed decorations embody 75 wreaths with pink bows, 51 Christmas timber and greater than 2,000 strands of sunshine. Try this look contained in the White Home vacation tour.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

JonOne with one of many work featured in his sol present at Miami’s Museum of Graffiti.

Greg Allen/NPR

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Greg Allen/NPR

1. This week, on the annual Artwork Basel truthful in Florida, a brand new exhibition at Miami’s Museum of Graffiti explores the origins and growth of road artwork.
2. Three octogenarian nuns gained worldwide fame after fleeing their care dwelling and breaking into their former convent. They’ve attracted over 185,000 Instagram followers, however their superior says they’ll keep provided that they offer up social media — a proposal they’ve rejected.
3. The 2025 Oxford Phrase of the 12 months is “rage bait,” which beat fellow shortlist nominees “aura farming” and “biohack” after three days of on-line voting. Here is how the phrase has been outlined.

This text was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.