--:-- Amy Held: This message comes from the NPR Wine Club, which has generated over $1.75 million to support NPR programming. Whether buying a few bottles or joining the club, you can learn more at nprwineclub.org slash podcast. Must be 21 or older to purchase.
--:-- Amy Held: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Amy Held. Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has arrived in the Caribbean. 4,000 sailors on board join thousands of service members already there. The Trump administration says it is fighting narco-terrorism. Military exercises are planned. It is not clear whether the military will be used against Venezuela. But pressure on Venezuela's leader, Nicolás Maduro, is growing. He put his message to music at a Caracas rally this weekend, calling for peace with John Lennon's Imagine.
--:-- Amy Held: The mainland of people. The U.S. has long pushed for regime change, offering a $50 million reward for Maduro's arrest. It's day two of a federal surge in Charlotte, North Carolina, that defies the wishes of state and local leaders. Saturday saw immigration agents arrest 81 people a Border Patrol official says People were detained outside church supermarkets and places of work Charlotte Democratic mayor says the operation is causing unnecessary fear.
--:-- Ava Pukac: President Trump has issued two new pardons for people connected to the January 6th insurrection. Trump issued a second pardon for Daniel Edward Wilson. Wilson had already been pardoned for his actions on January 6, 2021, when on his first day in office, Trump granted clemency to everyone charged or convicted for the attack. But Wilson had remained behind bars due to a separate conviction for illegally possessing six guns and nearly 4,800 rounds of ammunition.
--:-- Ava Pukac: After the second pardon, he was released from prison, where he had been serving a five-year sentence. Trump also pardoned Suzanne Ellen Kay, who was convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents who were investigating whether she was at the Capitol on January 6. She was released last year after serving 18 months.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: Several Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are vowing to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state. Speaking at a government meeting Netanyahu reiterated his stance against Palestinian independence. Our opposition to a Palestinian state on any territory has not changed whatsoever he said.
--:-- Kat Lonsdorf: The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on a U.S.-drafted resolution for an international stabilization force in Gaza as part of President Trump's 20-point peace plan that went into effect last month. Part of that resolution includes language that leaves the door open for Palestinian statehood, something insisted on by many of the countries expected to contribute troops to the stabilization force.
--:-- Ryan Haas: In tennis, in his home country, Italy's Yannick Sinner defeated Spanish world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP finals. Sinner won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, and the 24-year-old maintained an unbeaten run in this tournament, earning record prize money topping $5 million.
--:-- Ryan Haas: Todd Snyder, a singer whose freewheeling tunes and cosmic stoner songwriting made him a beloved figure in American Roots music, has died He was 59. Ryan Haas reports The Nashville musician was best known for was influenced on the alternative country music scene Snyder was prolific and spent much of his life on the road performing He was hospitalized in recent days due to pneumonia according to his family Following his death, fans praised Snyder's lyrical prowess and wit.
--:-- Ryan Haas: You'll have your fun when you're a millionaire. Imagine all the fun you'll have in some old rocking chair. On news of his death, Snyder's record label encouraged fans to celebrate his life by turning on one of his records, quote, loud enough to wake up all of your neighbors.
--:-- Host (Amy Held): This story has legs in multiples of eight. What is believed to be the world's biggest known spider's web, topping 1,100 square feet, was found in creepy conditions, the pitch black of a sulfur-rich cave on the Albanian-Greek border. Tens of thousands of arachnids belonging to two different species cohabitate there. Researchers say it's extraordinary because spider group living is rare.
--:-- Host (Amy Held): This is NPR News. This message comes from NPR sponsor Rosetta Stone, an expert in language learning for 30 years. Right now, NPR listeners can get Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership to 25 different languages for 50% off. Learn more at rosettastone.com slash NPR.
