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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Republican led House majority is starting the year with a one vote margin. NPR's Claudia Grizales reports. This comes after the conference was hit with devastating news.
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Republicans were at a retreat with President Trump when many first learned that Longtime California Republican 65 year old Doug LaMalfa had died. They also found out another Republican, Jim Baird of Indiana, was hospitalized after a serious car crash. It's not clear when he'll return. The news means Republicans will be down to a one seat majority. The timing will be a challenge for House Speaker Mike Johnson. He's staring down a member revolt to force a vote addressing the expired subsidies for the Affordable Care act program. Johnson is also facing a government shutdown deadline by month's end, and he's hoping to garner enough bipartisan votes to pass another wave of spending bills. Claudia Rizales, NPR News.
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At today's GOP retreat, President Trump addressed the US Military operation over the weekend in Venezuela that resulted in the arrest of deposed President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores.
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They were protected and our guys weren't. You know, our guys are jumping out of helicopters and you're not protected. And they were. But it was so brilliant. The electricity for almost the entire country was, boom, turned off. That's when they knew there was a problem. There was no electricity.
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Yesterday, Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, weapons and other charges in a federal court in New York. Maduro's removal became a nearly half million dollar payday for a trader on the app called Paul Polymarket. NPR's Bobby Allen says the trade has raised new concerns about insider trading on popular prediction market sites.
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Hours before President Trump ordered the Maduro operation, an anonymous user on Polymarket bet $32,000 the Venezuelan leader would be toppled. That turned into a $400,000 profit as online sleuths tried to identify the trader. A debate is raging about insider trading on popular prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi. The apps allow people to place bets on what politicians might say, what the outcome of elections. Legal experts say an insider trading case against a prediction market user would be more difficult than a case against a stock market trader. There are far fewer laws governing prediction markets, which the Trump administration is regulating not as a stock but as a futures contract. Bobby Allen, NPR News.
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NPR has obtained a memo revealing that the Pentagon is mounting a six month review of women in ground combat jobs. The review is being conducted to determine the effectiveness of having several thousand female soldiers and Marines in infantry, armor and artillery 10 years after those positions were opened to them. From Washington, this is NPR News. One of the first law enforcement officers to respond to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, is standing trial. Opening statements began today now that a jury had been seated. Former Uvalde Schools officer Adrian Gonzalez is facing 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment. He is one of two officers facing criminal charges in this case. But an investigation found that nearly 400 officers from multiple agencies were at the site of the school attack, waiting 77 minutes before they breached the classroom and killed the shooter. The gunman had killed 19 students and two teachers. The corporation for Public Broadcasting says it has voted to shut down the organization, the move coming months after Congress removed federal subsidies for public broadcasting. Here's NPR's David Folkenflick.
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The board voted on December 10th. It was disclosed in court filings in CPB's lawsuit against President Trump over his executive order seeking to fire several CPB board members. CBB says its lawsuit is now irrelevant. CEO Patricia Harrison said CPB dissolved, quote, to protect the integrity of the public media system. Otherwise it would be, Harrison said, quote, vulnerable to additional attacks. In another executive order, Trump sought to bar CPB from subsidizing NPR and pbs, which he accused of bias. The networks deny that. In a separate suit against the White House, NPR and three Colorado Public Radio stations allege the order is unconstitutional. That case remains in court. David Folkenflick, NPR News.
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The dow is up 490 points. It's NPR.
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Host: Lakshmi Singh
Main Theme:
A concise roundup of major national and international news, covering political developments in the US Congress, dramatic events in Venezuela, the future of prediction markets, women in the military, developments from Uvalde, and the dissolution of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Quote:
“The news means Republicans will be down to a one seat majority. The timing will be a challenge for House Speaker Mike Johnson. He’s staring down a member revolt to force a vote addressing the expired subsidies for the Affordable Care act program.”
—Claudia Grizales, NPR [00:44]
Quote:
“They were protected and our guys weren’t. You know, our guys are jumping out of helicopters and you’re not protected. And they were. But it was so brilliant. The electricity for almost the entire country was, boom, turned off. That’s when they knew there was a problem.”
—President Trump [01:28]
Quote:
“Hours before President Trump ordered the Maduro operation, an anonymous user on Polymarket bet $32,000 the Venezuelan leader would be toppled. That turned into a $400,000 profit...”
—Bobby Allen, NPR [02:09]
Quote:
“Legal experts say an insider trading case against a prediction market user would be more difficult than a case against a stock market trader. There are far fewer laws governing prediction markets.”
—Bobby Allen, NPR [02:31]
Quote:
“CEO Patricia Harrison said CPB dissolved, quote, to protect the integrity of the public media system. Otherwise it would be, Harrison said, quote, vulnerable to additional attacks.”
—David Folkenflik, NPR [04:19]
| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------|---------------| | GOP majority narrows, ACA revolt, shutdown | 00:14–01:16 | | US military in Venezuela, Trump’s comments | 01:16–01:47 | | Maduro arrest, prediction markets controversy | 01:47–02:50 | | Pentagon review of women in combat roles | 02:50–03:15 | | Uvalde school shooting officer on trial | 03:16–03:55 | | CPB dissolves amid subsidy battle | 03:56–04:49 | | Dow Jones performance | 04:49–04:53 |
This five-minute NPR News Now episode delivers top-level updates on US political developments, international military affairs, legal and ethical dilemmas in finance and media, and important social justice news, in NPR’s signature concise, neutral reporting style.