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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. President Trump says Venezuela will turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S. after the U.S. military action there and capture of the country's president. As NPR's Franco Ordonez reports, Trump says the oil will then be sold at market price.
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President Trump says in a social media post that he'll control the proceeds from the oil sales to ensure that the money is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States. He adds that it will be transported by storage ships directly to unloading docks in the U.S. he says that his energy secretary, Chris Wright, is executing the plan. Venezuela, of course, has some of the largest oil resources in the world, but it has been decimated by poor management. Oil fields are decaying and the infrastructure is in horrible shape. Trump has said the US Will be strongly involved in reviving the country's oil industry and expects U.S. companies will help with the costs. Franco Ordonez, NPR News.
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Five years ago today, a violent mob of supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol to mark the anniversary. A group of rioters who received pardons from Trump returned to the scene. NPR's Tom Dreisbach reports.
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On January 6, 2021, they stormed the U.S. capitol. This time around, they rallied to demand reparations and revenge against the judges and prosecutors who jailed them. Brandon Fellows received a pardon for breaking into the building and smoking a joint in a ransacked Senate office. He told me the rioters were justified.
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The election was stolen, and we had.
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A right to do a lot worse that day. The protest was righteous in your view, and absolutely.
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And it was.
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It could have gone even farther.
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I think we should have.
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Courts and election officials from across the country found that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Trump's election lies helped motivate the mob to attack the capitol, injuring approximately 140 police officers. Tom Dreisbach, NPR News.
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Authorities still have no motive for last month's campus shooting at Brown University and the killing days later of an MIT professor. But recordings the suspect made after the shootings shed some light on his state of mind. David Wright of member station Ocean State.
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Media reports transcripts released by the Massachusetts U.S. attorney's office come from videos Claudio Neves Valente recorded in his Salem, New Hampshire, storage locker after the shootings, his right eye wounded by one of his own shell casings. Valente says he'd been planning the attack at Brown University for some time. Six months, he says, or six semesters, he claims to have roamed the campus many times before December 13th. I had plenty of opportunities, he says, but I always chickened out. He says he has no hatred towards America and that quote, that this was an issue of opportunity. For NPR News, I'm David Wright in Providence, Rhode Island.
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This is npr. Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok is under fire for generating sexualized images of women and children without consent. The EU and other countries have condemned the Platform X and called for investigations. Musk's Platform X says it takes action against illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, by removing it. Pope Leo has marked the end of the Vatican's jubilee year, a period that occurs once every quarter century, with a message to help and care for immigrants. NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports.
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In the closing ceremony for this holy jubilee year, Pope Leo kneeled in prayer at the stone floor threshold of the holy door of St. Peter's Basilica, which Christians coming to Rome could walk through this past year. He then pulled the door shut, the Vatican says a record through 33.5 million pilgrims visited this year. Pope Leo has made care for immigrants a central issue of his papacy. He used his homily on this special day to call on Christians to welcome strangers and resist what he called the flattery and seduction of those in power. In a separate prayer for epiphany, he told worshippers, in the place of inequality, may there be fairness, and may the industry of war be replaced by the craft of peace. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News.
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Indonesia's conservation park has shared a video of a giant panda cub named Rio. Forty days after his birth, veterinarians examined him for the first time outside of the incubator. Pandas are known for their breeding difficulties, making Rio's birth especially significant. This is NPR News from Washington.
Host: Ryland Barton
Podcast: NPR News Now
Duration: ~5 minutes
Theme: Concise coverage of the latest major U.S. and world stories, including international oil agreements, the Capitol attack anniversary, developments in a high-profile shooting case, AI and online safety, a papal message on migration, and a panda cub milestone.
This episode delivers a rapid-fire overview of major headlines from the U.S. and around the globe. The news covers political developments involving the U.S. and Venezuela, the January 6 Capitol attack anniversary, updates on a campus shooting, international controversy over AI-generated content, the Vatican’s jubilee closure, and an uplifting animal story from Indonesia.
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This NPR News Now episode delivers swift reporting on geopolitics, American democracy, public safety, technology ethics, global religious leadership, and conservation triumphs—all packed into five minutes with clear, direct reporting and thoughtful context from veteran correspondents. For listeners, it’s a snapshot of a complex world, marked by conflict, controversy, and the occasional reason for hope.