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Today's top stories
The White House is moving quickly to tighten legal immigration reviews after last week's shooting of two National Guard members in the nation's capital. The shooting suspect, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has been charged with first-degree murder. He was granted asylum this year after arriving in the U.S. through a Biden-era program that provided temporary legal status for those who assisted the U.S. military in Afghanistan.
- 🎧 NPR's Ximena Bustillo tells Up First that she obtained a memo issued by the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services late last month that calls for a review of all refugees admitted into the country under the Biden administration. This action would essentially reopen their cases and may involve reinterviewing them, with the possibility that some could lose their status. Immigration advocates have described the recent changes to refugee reviews, visas and green cards as destabilizing for families already living in the U.S.
Some U.S. lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, say that President Trump's actions against a boat in the Caribbean Sea may constitute a war crime. The war crime claims come after The Washington Post reported on a strike in September that left two survivors clinging to the boat wreckage. According to the report, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly gave an order to kill everyone aboard alleged drug boats, leading to a second strike that killed those survivors. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) stated that if this were true, it would violate the Department of Defense's laws of war and international laws concerning the treatment of individuals in such situations. To date, U.S. military forces have destroyed 21 boats allegedly involved in drug trafficking and killed 83 individuals, but have not provided evidence that the boats were actually carrying drugs.
- 🎧 Trump has been pushing for regime change in Venezuela since his first term in office, NPR freelance reporter John Otis says. The country's president, Nicolás Maduro, has crushed Venezuela's democracy and economy, forcing millions of its people to flee overseas. Venezuela says the U.S. has a different motive for these attacks, and accuses the U.S. of trying to take control of its oil reserves. But experts argue that the 15,000 U.S. troops stationed on warships in the Caribbean are not enough to take control of the country.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner yesterday hosted a Ukrainian delegation for talks in an effort to end the war in Ukraine. The discussions focused on the new U.S. peace plan, which was initially criticized for heavily favoring Russia but has since been amended with input from Ukraine and Europe. Talks are expected to continue today as Witkoff heads to Moscow.
- 🎧 Witkoff goes into his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the heels of a recently leaked transcript that seemed to show him coaching the Kremlin on how to engage with Trump, NPR's Charles Maynes notes. Trump has dismissed the leak as a matter of dealmaking, and Putin has defended him as a polite person who is trying to work with them. Maynes says that during the negotiation process, Putin has been trying to tempt the U.S. to put pressure on Ukraine to accept a deal. Russian negotiators frequently discuss the potential financial benefits the U.S. could reap when the war ends and sanctions are lifted, according to Maynes.
Cost of living
NPR's series Cost of Living: The Price We Pay is examining what's driving price increases and how people are coping after years of stubborn inflation.
Tariffs, inflation and layoffs are affecting people's ability to spend during this holiday season and influencing their purchasing decisions. Jeanine Skowronski, a finance journalist and founder of the newsletter "Money As If," speaks with Morning Edition host A Martínez to share tips on managing financial stress while shopping during this time of year.
- 🛍️ If you have the money to buy gifts and want to, feel free to do so. But if you don't have the funds, it's OK to skip gifts this year.
- 🛍️ Try going through your recent bank statements to understand how much money you can comfortably spend without being stressed.
- 🛍️ If you do overspend, remind yourself that you can reset.
Listen to advice on how to manage financial stress during the holiday season or read the transcript. This week, the series will discuss smart tactics you can use to lower your bills. Stay up-to-date on the latest stories here.
How are higher prices changing the way you live? Fill out this form to share your story with NPR.
Life advice
AI-generated videos seem to be everywhere these days, leaving many people confused about what is real and what is fake. While it can be challenging to determine the authenticity of online content, experts suggest following these simple dos and don'ts to help you evaluate what you see.
- ➡️ Many AI videos are typically around 8-10 seconds long.
- ➡️ These videos tend to perfectly frame their subject, and the action starts and stops cleanly.
- ➡️ Context is important. Take note of where the content was posted and who shared it. If the content comes from an account that has been active for a long time and covers a range of topics, it may indicate that it came from a real person.
- ➡️ If you are uncertain whether a video is originally from the account you're viewing, consider performing a reverse image search on Google or another platform.
Now, put these tips to the test and see if you can tell the real from the fake with this quiz.
3 things to know before you go
- The painting Christ on the Cross, which was rediscovered last year after being lost for over 400 years, was sold yesterday at the Osenat auction house in Versailles for $2.7 million.
- Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" has become a seasonal staple over the years, despite its divisive nature. Some think it's one of the worst Christmas songs. But is it? People on both sides of the argument defend their views.
- Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson a year ago, returns to court this week as his lawyers ask a Manhattan judge to toss out some evidence in the case. (via Gothamist)
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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