Inside a Nobel Peace Prize winner’s daring escape from Venezuela

Summary

Podcast Summary: Apple News Today

Episode: Inside a Nobel Peace Prize winner’s daring escape from Venezuela
Host: Shumita Basu
Date: December 12, 2025

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Overview

This episode delves into a dramatic week in world and U.S. news, led by an in-depth look at Nobel Peace Prize-winning Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado’s escape from Venezuela and its geopolitical ramifications. The show also covers the U.S. healthcare bill deadlock, profiles Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s influence and history, highlights setbacks for Trump’s redistricting plans, updates on a controversial immigration case, and reports a landmark Disney-AI deal.

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Main Segment: Maria Corina Machado’s Daring Escape and its Aftermath

The Tanker Seizure & New Sanctions

• [00:44 – 01:11] The U.S. escalated pressure on Venezuela by seizing an oil tanker and sanctioning additional ships and senior members of Maduro’s regime, aiming to curtail black-market oil profits.
  • Press Secretary Caroline Levitt:

    "We're not going to stand by and watch. Sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world." (00:53)

Machado's Perspective from Norway

• Machado called the tanker seizure a critical turning point:
  • Maria Corina Machado:

    "The regime previously thought that they could do anything, anything. They felt they had absolute impunity. Now they start to understand that this is serious and the world is really watching." (01:32)

• Despite doubts over her attendance, Machado appeared in Norway after a secretive escape.

Inside the Escape: Exclusive Reporting

• [02:06 – 03:23]
  • Vera Bergengruen (Wall Street Journal national security correspondent) recounts:
    • Machado evaded authorities for over a year, mainly hiding in a Caracas suburb.
    • An American extraction team helped disguise and move her through more than ten security checkpoints.
    • A host of complications: engine troubles, a rough sea, the constant threat of interception.
    • Machado’s boat resembled those used in drug trafficking, raising risks of being mistaken for traffickers by U.S. or Venezuelan forces.
    • Real-time tracking and covert U.S. coordination enabled the mission.
  • Vera Bergengruen:

    "The most remarkable thing about this in many ways is how many things went wrong..." (02:31)

What’s Next for Machado?

• [03:23 – 03:56]
  • Machado has vowed to return to Venezuela, but faces grave danger if she does, as Maduro’s government declared her a fugitive.
  • In exile, she plans to rally international support in Europe and potentially the U.S.
  • Vera Bergengruen:

    "She believes that wherever she can draw the most attention to her cause is where she needs to be...this triumphant moment, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, we're told that she's going to embark on a tour of European capitals and speak to people and kind of rally support for her cause, but potentially the United States." (03:34)

Machado’s Hardline Approach

• [03:59 – 04:27]
  • She is not a pacifist despite winning the Peace Prize—she actively pressures the Trump administration for stronger measures, including military force, if necessary.
  • Vera Bergengruen:

    "She's really courting the Trump administration to do anything they can—economic pressure, political pressure, but even the use of military force to depose Maduro. And that has been something that I don't think we've seen these kinds of Peace Prize winners really support." (04:05)

  • Maria Corina Machado:

    "You need to raise the cost of staying in power and lowering the cost of leaving power. Only when you do that, this regime will break down." (04:27)

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U.S. Healthcare Battle: Subsidy Showdown in Congress

Senate Deadlock and Key Proposals

• [04:48 – 06:42]
  • Last-minute congressional chaos over expiring healthcare subsidies at month’s end:
    • Republican plan: expand Health Savings Accounts, not applicable to premiums.
    • Democrat plan: three-year extension of ACA (Affordable Care Act) subsidies affecting 22 million people.
    • Both failed to pass on Thursday.
  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:

    "Yesterday Democrats did the work, but now Republicans chose the consequences...tens of millions of people will see their premiums double or triple or more next year." (05:37)

  • Senate Majority Leader John Thune:

    "You've got to have some reforms to make this work...the most unaffordable health insurance premiums in the country are in the Obamacare exchanges." (06:04)

  • Notably, four GOP senators—including Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), and Josh Hawley (Missouri)—broke ranks, voting for the Democratic plan.

Path Forward

• [07:00 – 07:38]
  • Michael Schnell (Congressional correspondent):

    "Now the ball is kind of in the House's court to see if House members can get anything done before those ACA subsid[y] are set to expire at the end of the year." (07:10)

  • Next steps hinge on Speaker Mike Johnson, though specifics remain unclear.

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Profile: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—A Controversial Public Health Figure

Ascendancy and Controversies

• [07:41 – 08:11]
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now Health Secretary, has stirred debate with moves like rolling back CDC’s hepatitis B vaccine recs and restricting public input on federal health policies.
  • Facing impeachment articles (largely symbolic) from Rep. Haley Stevens following bipartisan criticism.

In-depth Interview: Kennedy’s Personal History

• [08:45 – 11:18]
  • Michael Shearer (Atlantic writer) argues understanding Kennedy’s legacy is vital to grasping his current leadership.
    • Personal trauma: lost both uncle JFK and father RFK to assassination while a child/teen.
    • Struggled with heroin addiction from adolescence through early adulthood; now decades in recovery.
  • Michael Shearer:

    "He, from a very early age, saw himself as a sort of King Arthur-like figure, right? You know, orphaned future king who has to fight demons and evil forces and fight his way back." (09:18)

  • Kennedy’s steadfast, contrarian worldview powers both his success and vaccine skepticism.
  • Shearer:

    "He really sees himself as someone who can see the truth in ways other people do not see the truth." (10:23)

Kennedy and Vaccine Science

• Kennedy stands at odds with medical consensus, particularly about vaccines.
  • When pressed, Kennedy professes willingness to reconsider but maintains confidence—rejecting prevailing scientific opinion.
  • Michael Shearer:

    "His answer was we would listen, which was, you know, a hopeful answer. And then he went on to sort of list out all the reasons that he was not wrong." (10:56)

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Quick Headlines

Indiana Rebukes Trump on Redistricting

• [11:46 – 12:23]
  • State Republicans decisively reject Trump-backed congressional redistricting, making Indiana the first state to formally spurn Trump’s redistricting urge.
  • Effort would have gained Republicans two House seats; Trump vows retaliation in primaries.

Immigration Case Victory

• [12:35 – 13:08]
  • Kilmar Abrego Garcia, wrongfully deported to El Salvador after an ICE error, released after months in detention. Lawyer calls it “an extraordinary victory for our client and for due process.”

Disney and OpenAI Strike Landmark Deal

• [13:24 – 14:15]

  • Disney partners with OpenAI: fans can create videos featuring Disney IP without copyright worries.

  • Images are included, but official character voices are excluded.

  • A pivotal moment for creative rights and AI platforms; Writers Guild voices concern, calling the deal a sanction of theft.

    "You can play around with making a video featuring the characters from Toy Story all you want, but don't expect Woody to have Tom Hanks' voice." (14:14)

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Memorable Quotes and Moments

• Maria Corina Machado (on regime change):

  "You need to raise the cost of staying in power and lowering the cost of leaving power. Only when you do that, this regime will break down." (04:27)

• Senator Josh Hawley (on healthcare impasse):

  "I do know that the effect on people at home and right now people at home are saying we need our health care prices to be lower...I’m for doing everything that will help lower the cost of health care." (06:45)

• Michael Shearer (on Kennedy’s self-perception):

  "He...saw himself as a sort of King Arthur-like figure...orphaned future king who has to fight demons and evil forces and fight his way back." (09:18)

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Notable Timestamps

• 00:44 — U.S. seizes Venezuelan oil tanker; new sanctions
• 01:32 — Maria Corina Machado: regime “had absolute impunity...now the world is watching”
• 02:31 — Vera Bergengruen reveals details of Machado’s escape
• 03:34 — Machado’s international advocacy plans
• 04:05 — Machado aligns with Trump administration—advocates for military force
• 04:27 — Machado’s “raise the cost” quote on regime change
• 05:37 — Schumer on failed subsidy votes
• 06:04 — Thune calls ACA “most unaffordable”
• 06:45 — Hawley on supporting both health plans
• 09:18 — Shearer on Kennedy’s “King Arthur” persona
• 10:23 — Shearer on Kennedy’s relentless worldview
• 10:56 — Kennedy’s answer to "what if you’re wrong?"
• 13:40 — Disney-OpenAI licensing deal explained

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For Further Listening

• The episode concludes promoting a deeper Apple News “In Conversation” interview on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., available in the Apple News app.

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Tone: The conversation is urgent and brisk, blending hard-news reporting with exclusive investigative insights, rapid political developments, and pointed, at times dramatic, personal observations from guests and correspondents. The delivery remains clear, impartial, and tightly focused on the substance of reporting.

Transcript

[Shemit Sebastu]

Good morning. It's Friday, December 12th. I'm Shemit Sebastu.

[Apple News Host]

This is Apple News today.

[Shemit Sebastu]

On today's show, inside the last minute.

[Apple News Host]

Battle over healthcare subsidies.

[Shemit Sebastu]

How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

[Apple News Host]

Came to be the most powerful figure in national public health.

[Shemit Sebastu]

And Disney cuts a major AI deal.

[Apple News Host]

That could transform how their creations are used by fans.

[Shemit Sebastu]

But first, the latest on the escalating.

[Apple News Host]

Conflict with Venezuela and a closer look at the country's Nobel laureate opposition leader.

[Shemit Sebastu]

This week the US took aim at.

[Apple News Host]

A central piece of the Venezuelan economy, oil, after it seized a tanker.

[Shemit Sebastu]

The operation was the focal point of.

[Apple News Host]

Press Secretary Caroline Levitt's briefing yesterday.

[Press Secretary Caroline Levitt]

We're not going to stand by and watch. Sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil the the proceeds of which will fuel narco terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world.

[Shemit Sebastu]

The same day, the Trump administration announced.

[Apple News Host]

It had sanctioned half a dozen more ships as well as three of President Maduro's nephews.

[Shemit Sebastu]

As his government contemplates its next move.

[Apple News Host]

Dozens of other vessels wonder about theirs. As Reuters reports, many more sanctioned shipments could be targets if they set sail. For this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, leading Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the tanker seizure was quote, decisive moment.

[Maria Corina Machado]

The regime previously thought that they could do anything, anything. They felt they had absolute impunity. Now they start to understand that this is serious and the world is really watching.

[Apple News Host]

She spoke from Norway after receiving the Nobel Prize. Though she just missed the ceremony, many.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Thought it was unlikely she would make.

[Apple News Host]

An appearance at all given the dangers of leaving her home country.

[Shemit Sebastu]

In some exclusive reporting, the Wall Street.

[Apple News Host]

Journal has looking into how Machado escaped and what she might do now.

[Vera Bergengruen]

Maria Corina Machado had been in hiding Venezuela for over a year in a suburb of Caracas and had only been out once so far that we know of. So getting her out everybody knew as the most recognizable woman in the region would be incredibly difficult.

[Apple News Host]

Vera Bergengruen is a national security correspondent for the Journal.

[Shemit Sebastu]

She told us that a private American.

[Apple News Host]

Extraction team played a crucial role, but it was far from smooth sailing.

[Vera Bergengruen]

The most remarkable thing about this in many ways is how many things went wrong. They had to get her out, disguise her so she wouldn't be recognizable, and then get her all the way from Caracas to the coast in the north through more than 10 military and police checkpoints. And then once they were on the beach about to board the boat, the engines had problems. They ended up with a very rough sea. And when they finally were able to link together, they the person involved in the operation told me they were basically sitting ducks.

[Shemit Sebastu]

And Bergen Gruen told us the boat Machado used was similar to the alleged.

[Apple News Host]

Drug boats being targeted.

[Shemit Sebastu]

So Machado's team had to warn DoD.

[Apple News Host]

Officials, some of whom were keeping track of their live location. It might be a one way journey. Machado has insisted she will return to her home country, but sources told Bergengruin that could be as risky as leaving.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Maduro's government said they would consider her.

[Apple News Host]

A fugitive if she ever left Venezuela. For now, Burge and Gruen told us Machado has a packed agenda abroad and she hopes to influence Western opinion.

[Vera Bergengruen]

She believes that wherever she can draw the most attention to her cause is where she needs to be. Until now, that has been inside of Venezuela. She believes that, you know, obviously this triumphant moment, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, we're told that she's going to embark on a tour of European capitals and speak to people and kind of rally support for her cause, but potentially the United States. She seems to believe that that was the moment to do that.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Machado may have won the Peace Prize.

[Apple News Host]

But she is not a pacifist.

[Shemit Sebastu]

She has stayed close to the White.

[Apple News Host]

House and backed their recent actions.

[Vera Bergengruen]

She's really courting the Trump administration to do anything they can. Economic pressure, political pressure, but even the use of military force to depose Maduro. And that has been something that I don't think we've seen these kinds of Peace Prize winners really support.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Machado suggested recent.

[Apple News Host]

Pressure had weakened Maduro and that his days were numbered.

[Maria Corina Machado]

You need to raise the cost of staying in power and lowering the cost of leaving power. Only when you do that, this regime will break down. And that's where we are moving towards right now.

[Shemit Sebastu]

It was a busy day on Capitol Hill as lawmakers scrambled to prevent health.

[Apple News Host]

Care costs from dramatically rising for millions of Americans at the end of the month. Dueling bills in the Senate to address the issue failed in two separate votes on Thursday.

[Shemit Sebastu]

A plan from Republicans would have expanded health savings accounts.

[Apple News Host]

A deposit of $1,000 or $1,500 per.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Person would be made into an account.

[Apple News Host]

That could be used for out of pocket medical costs.

[Shemit Sebastu]

That money would not be eligible to pay premiums.

[Apple News Host]

Democrats put forward a three year extension of the Affordable Care act subsidies that were at the heart of the government shutdown.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Those subsidies are used by roughly 22.

[Apple News Host]

Million people in the US and if they're not extended premiums for those who get their insurance through the ACA will double on average. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer addressed the failed votes.

[Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer]

Yesterday Democrats did the work, but now Republicans chose the consequences. Now Republicans have all but guaranteed that tens of millions of people will see their premiums double or triple or more next year.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other.

[Apple News Host]

Republicans called the Democrats plan dead on arrival. Here he is speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill yesterday just before the vote about his opposition.

[Senate Majority Leader John Thune]

You've got to have some reforms to make this work. We've got people who are willing to work with Democrats to see that that happens. But it can't happen if you just go out and say we're going to do a blanket extension. We're not going to look at reforming the program to make it more affordable. I mean, you want to talk about affordability. The most unaffordable health insurance premiums in the country are in the Obamacare exchanges.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Some lawmakers in search of optimism see the failure of these two bills as.

[Apple News Host]

A way forward on something new.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Four Republican senators broke with their party.

[Apple News Host]

To support the Democrats plan for an extension.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan from.

[Apple News Host]

Alaska, Susan Collins from Maine, and Josh Hawley from Missouri.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Hawley, in fact, voted for both plans.

[Senator Josh Hawley]

The politics, I just, I don't know. I'll leave that to others. But I do know that the effect on people at home and right now people at home are saying we need our health care prices to be lower. They need help on everything. So I'm for doing everything that will help lower the cost of health care.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Mississippi now Congressional correspondent Michael Schnell spoke.

[Apple News Host]

To the network after yesterday's votes failed and said the burden now falls to House Speaker Mike Johnson.

[Michael Schnell]

So now the ball is kind of in the House's court to see if House members can get anything done before those ACA subsid are set to expire at the end of the year. And there is this renewed urgency among Republicans to maybe potentially do something about these rising health care costs.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Johnson says a plan is coming from.

[Apple News Host]

His caucus, but hasn't released any details.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Or said whether it will include some.

[Apple News Host]

Sort of short or longer term extension of those subsidies.

[Shemit Sebastu]

A vote on whatever that plan turns.

[Apple News Host]

Out to be could be held next week.

[Shemit Sebastu]

President Trump, meanwhile, says he would rather not see subsidies extended and instead wants money to go directly to people to.

[Apple News Host]

Pay for health planning, though he has not presented a proposal for how that might happen. Congress leaves for the holiday break at the end of next week. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Has continued to stir controversy in Congress over this past week.

[Shemit Sebastu]

First, there was the CDC decision to roll back the decades Long hep B.

[Apple News Host]

Jab recommendation for newborns made last week.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Then, on Wednesday, Kennedy faced bipartisan criticism.

[Apple News Host]

For limiting public participation in some of the changes his department is making.

[Shemit Sebastu]

That same day, Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens.

[Apple News Host]

Filed formal impeachment articles against him, a.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Move that's bound to fail, but might.

[Apple News Host]

Boost her profile for an upcoming Senate run.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Kennedy has become one of the most.

[Apple News Host]

Prominent figures in the Trump administration, and.

[Shemit Sebastu]

There'S been extensive coverage of him and his influence.

[Apple News Host]

But Atlantic staff writer Michael Shearer recently profiled Kennedy and spent a significant amount of time with him. And he came away with a portrait that really gets at who Kennedy is and what drives him.

[Michael Shearer]

My idea is that you cannot understand what he's doing now at HHS without understanding him as a person.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Shearer and Kennedy spoke about the losses.

[Apple News Host]

That Kennedy experienced at a young age. He was nine years old when his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated, and he was 14 years old when his father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was also shot and killed.

[Michael Shearer]

He was born as much a prince as America has ever had, in that the Kennedy family in the 1960s was as much political royalty as the United States has ever had. So he, from a very early age, saw himself as a sort of King Arthur like figure, right? You know, orphaned future king who has to fight demons and evil forces and fight his way back.

[Shemit Sebastu]

He's spoken openly about his struggles with addiction.

[Apple News Host]

He first tried heroin when he was 15 years old.

[Michael Shearer]

You know, at 16, he was taking trips up to New York to buy smack on the street and continued as a regular heroin user, through several boarding schools, as a high school student, through Harvard University, through the University of Virginia, where he got a law degree, through his first legal jobs in New York City, until the addiction sort of got the best of him.

[Shemit Sebastu]

He's been in recovery for decades now.

[Apple News Host]

And he still attends 12 step meetings regularly. These early experiences, Shearer says, have instilled a certain fierceness in him, a doggedness in his beliefs and in his mission.

[Michael Shearer]

That fierceness, I think, explains why I think he's been successful in the ways he's been successful, but also why he has been so willing to divert entirely from the sort of accepted wisdom of the scientific community. He really sees himself as someone who can see the truth in ways other people do not see the truth.

[Shemit Sebastu]

This worldview has led to Kennedy questioning.

[Apple News Host]

And undermining the accepted scientific consensus around vaccines, something that Shearer pressed him on during their conversations.

[Michael Shearer]

I said, well, what if you're wrong? You know, what if all you're doing here doesn't work out and the vaccines and the bacteria do, the education and we have, you know, measles and whooping cough outbreaks and, you know, kids are put in the hospital. And his answer was we would listen, which was, you know, a hopeful answer. And then he went on to sort of list out all the reasons that he was not wrong.

[Shemit Sebastu]

In my chat with Scheer, we go.

[Apple News Host]

Much deeper into Kennedy's background and how it's shaping his leadership and driving public health policy.

[Shemit Sebastu]

To hear more, check out this week's.

[Apple News Host]

Episode of Apple News in Conversation.

[Shemit Sebastu]

If you're already listening in the news.

[Apple News Host]

App right now, that episode is queued up to play after this show.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Before we let you go, a few.

[Apple News Host]

Other stories we're following.

[Shemit Sebastu]

In a stunning rebuke of President Trump.

[Apple News Host]

Republicans in Indiana rejected a bill to redraw the state's congressional map.

[Shemit Sebastu]

The Indianapolis Star reports the 1931 vote.

[Apple News Host]

Against the measure caps off months of pressure from Trump, who's asked several several red states to help maintain a Republican majority after next year's midterms through redistricting.

[Shemit Sebastu]

The vote total in Indiana means the.

[Apple News Host]

Effort is now dead.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Trump on Wednesday said he would support.

[Apple News Host]

Primary challengers to Republicans who voted against the bill and personally attacked Indiana's Senate leader by name. Republicans have a supermajority in the Indiana House and Senate.

[Shemit Sebastu]

The failure of this bill, which could.

[Apple News Host]

Have netted Republicans two more seats in the U.S. house, makes Indiana the only state to formally reject Trump's redistricting efforts.

[Shemit Sebastu]

It has been one of the most.

[Apple News Host]

Drawn out and controversial immigration cases of the Trump administration.

[Shemit Sebastu]

But yesterday, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was freed.

[Apple News Host]

From detention after an order from a federal judge.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Garcia had been deported to El Salvador.

[Apple News Host]

In the spring due to what ICE described as a, quote, administrative error.

[Shemit Sebastu]

He was returned to the US where.

[Apple News Host]

The government then held him for months as they attempted to deport him to other countries. Garcia now heads back to his home in Maryland, and his lawyer said it was, quote, an extraordinary victory for our client and for due process.

[Shemit Sebastu]

Meanwhile, yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

[Apple News Host]

Defended the administration's immigration enforcement policies at a House Committee hearing. While some Democratic lawmakers called on her to resign, she said she would not back down.

[Shemit Sebastu]

And finally, some of the oldest cartoon.

[Apple News Host]

Characters could be jumping into a whole new world. Disney announced on Thursday it reached a licensing agreement with OpenAI.

[Shemit Sebastu]

It'll allow people to easily make their.

[Apple News Host]

Own short videos using the company's vast ip.

[Shemit Sebastu]

In truth, a lot of people were.

[Apple News Host]

Already doing this, but with this deal.

[Shemit Sebastu]

They no longer have to worry about.

[Apple News Host]

Breaching copyright, something that Disney is typically very hawkish about.

[Shemit Sebastu]

In recent months, Disney has warned AI.

[Apple News Host]

Companies over the ease with which their characters could be recreated on their platforms.

[Shemit Sebastu]

This deal marks a turning point in.

[Apple News Host]

The very tough questions as to how people's artistic work is potentially used and abused on AI platforms, and the Writers Guild said it appeared to sanction theft.

[Shemit Sebastu]

But while images are part of the.

[Apple News Host]

Deal, voices crucially are not.

[Shemit Sebastu]

So you can play around with making.

[Apple News Host]

A video featuring the characters from Toy Story all youl Want, but don't expect Woody to have Tom Hanks voice.

[Shemit Sebastu]

You can find all these stories and.

[Apple News Host]

More in the Apple News app.

[Shemit Sebastu]

And if you're already listening in the.

[Apple News Host]

News app right now, stick around for the latest episode of In Conversation About Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. That's queued up to play for you next. Enjoy your weekend and we'll be back with the news on Monday.