--:-- Ray: Hey, it's Ray from Car Talk. Are you tired of all the depth and thoughtful care that goes into NPR shows? Want some good old-fashioned goofing around and stumbling to figure out what's going on? Well, I've been taking occasional car questions again. You can hear them by signing up for NPR Plus, along with lots of other bonus content. Just go to plus.npr.org.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. The world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, will arrive in the Northern Caribbean tomorrow, according to a U.S. military official. This says tensions with Venezuela grow.
--:-- Laura Sullivan: NPR's Laura Sullivan has more. The USS Gerald Ford will be joining some 15,000 soldiers and sailors already in the region. A U.S. military official told NPR the U.S. is gearing up for possible military action, saying, quote, the table is being set. High-level meetings with members of Congress and foreign leaders are continuing, along with ongoing military exercises. It remains unclear, however, if President Trump will use military force against the country.
--:-- Laura Sullivan: The U.S. has conducted multiple strikes on boats in the region. President Trump has also repeatedly called on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to resign. Officials told NPR the arrival of the USS Gerald Ford could be just another pressure tactic on Maduro who has put his own forces on high alert.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: Laura Sullivan, NPR News.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: Having been out of town for more than 50 days, members of the House of Representatives returned to their desks this week voting to reopen the government with another short-term spending bill, but no resolution of the standoff over the Affordable Care Act.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: Moving to the top of the agenda in the coming week is a vote on the release of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. NPR's Deirdre Walsh has the latest.
--:-- Deirdre Walsh: Because of increasing calls from House Republicans to get these files out, the speaker decided to hold this vote next week. I mean, the politics for the party are really bad. The Republicans are divided. And this bill forcing the release of the Justice Department files is picking up more GOP votes each day, even at a time when the president and top Trump officials were pressuring some Republicans to block a bill from even getting a vote.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: NPR's Deirdre Walsh reporting from Washington.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: The season's first heavy rainfall has deluged Gaza, flooding tents and hampering recovery after two years of war. With winter approaching the United Nations says needs are immense.
--:-- Lauren Freyer: NPR Lauren Freyer reports. Wind and rain are hampering efforts to stay warm and dry in places like Al where up to half a million displaced Palestinians are staying mostly in temporary tents.
--:-- Lauren Freyer: A spokesperson for Gaza's civil defense agency, Mahmoud Basal, says rain has inundated those makeshift shelters. In a statement, Hamas decried what it called Israel's continued obstruction of humanitarian aid into the Strip.
--:-- Lauren Freyer: Israel says it opened a border crossing this week into northern Gaza, where the UN declared a famine last summer. The UN now says, quote, full and sustained opening of existing and additional crossings is required, and that the transport of aid within Gaza remains limited and highly congested.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: Lauren Fryer, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: This is NPR.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: The Pope met with prominent figures from the world of cinema at the Vatican today.
--:-- Chloe Veltman: NPR's Chloe Veltman reports, Popplio delivered an address about the power of movies to bring hope and safeguard human dignity. Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen and Spike Lee were among those present as Popplio delivered a speech in Italian about the transformative power of cinema.
--:-- Chloe Veltman: Vatican News shared a video of the event and provided an interpreter. It is wonderful to see that when the magic light of cinema illuminates the darkness it simultaneously ignites the eyes of the soul.
--:-- Chloe Veltman: The Pope said that movies aren't just about entertainment; they also help people pursue meaning, justice, and beauty. He also lamented the widespread closure of cinemas and urged filmmakers and institutions to work together to promote the social and cultural value of moviegoing.
--:-- Chloe Veltman: The speech came just a few days after the Pope talked to Variety about his favorite movies. Top of the Chicago-born pontiff's list is "It's a Wonderful Life."
--:-- Louise Schiavone: Chloe Veltman, NPR News.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: Millions of YouTube TV subscribers have had their news and sports programming restored after the settlement of a fee dispute between Disney and YouTube. The standoff, which went on for roughly two weeks, had interrupted access on YouTube TV to Disney-owned networks like ABC and ESPN.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: The agreement came literally hours before sports event fans were gearing up for a weekend of watching their favorite college teams meet on the gridiron. Alphabet, which owns YouTube TV and Google, is a financial supporter of NPR.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.
--:-- Louise Schiavone: Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.
