Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman.
The death toll continues to climb following Wednesday's earthquakes that hit Venezuela
“up officials say at least 920 people are now dead and more than 51,000 others are missing.”
On Thursday, the Trump administration announced what appears to be its strongest disaster response since it dismantled USAID last year in PR's Fatmateness. There's been a quiet shift in their attitude towards 4 and 8 in the last 10 months. The administration's created a Bureau of Disaster and Humanitarian Response in the State Department.
They've hired back some of the staff that had been laid off at USAID. They're spending more money. At the same time, the administration has made it clear that it's prioritizing helping countries that are of geopolitical interests to the United States and, of course, Venezuela is one of them after the US toppled its authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January.
Citizens being while are continuing to dig through rubble with the hopes of finding some of those missing still alive. The Trump administration's religious Liberty Commission is calling for greater ties between church and state and PR's Jason D'Rose reports.
“President Trump created the commission through an executive order in May of 2025.”
The report says religion is often treated as, quote, a problem or annoyance to be managed restricted or sideline. Among the commission's recommendations, the creation of a hotline for students and teachers to report what they perceive as violations of their religious liberty and legal protections for health care workers who refuse to participate in procedures such as abortions that
they say violate their religious beliefs. Critics of the religious liberty commission say most of its members are conservative Christians who don't represent the diversity of religious thought in the US. Jason D'Rose and PR news. In Los Angeles, the federal trial of a man accused of igniting last year's deadly palisades
fire and did in a mistrial Friday, 12 people were killed in thousands of homes were destroyed in that fire. Steve Futterman has a report. The judge asked the jury for him and each of the jurors is there anything the court can do that might help you reach a unanimous decision and each of them said no, that's when
the judge declared a mistrial. The jury for him did disclose the division of the jury. He told the court, it was split ten to two in favor of a not guilty verdict.
So that's a victory of sorts for the defense, which had always claimed there was never
enough evidence to convict Jonathan Rinder, Kinesh, to actually starting the fire. The government plans to retry the case on all three counts. For MPR News, I'm Steve Futterman at the federal courthouse in Los Angeles. The judge has said a new trial date for October 19th. The state of Utah is restricting the use of fireworks as a major wildfire continues to
burn there. Fire officials say the cottonwood fire has now consumed 112 square miles and it's continuing to grow. Firefighters say flames are racing through treetops there. Red flag warnings are also an effect for parts of several other western states.
This is NPR News. The government of Tanzania has banned all political rallies in that country. The decision comes just ahead of planned protests against last year's disputed election as well as the detention of an opposition leader, young people in the country say they plan to demonstrate on July 7 to push for a new constitution.
“A key suspect in a major fraud investigation in Minnesota has been arrested in this native”
Somalia as Matt Sepic of Minnesota Public Radio reports. Federal authorities say the man fled the United States early in the investigation. Opticum, Eidle, is among 79 people charged in the conspiracy to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from federal child nutrition programs during COVID. 66 have been convicted since 2022.
One leader Amy Bach, who ran the nonprofit feeding our future, is serving a 42-year sentence. Former lead prosecutor Joe Thompson says Eidle was Bach's right hand man. "It was a pay-to-place system and Eidle was the one who was responsible for receiving those kickbacks and bringing them back to Amy Bach and feeding our future." The U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with Somalia, but the FBI says it worked with
Somalia authorities to locate and arrest Eidle. For NPR News, I'm Matt Sepic in St. Paul. A drug case against six-time Olympic metal-skier voting miller is being dismissed, the 48-year-old is arrested on June 6th after a traffic stop and charged with possessing psilocybin mushrooms. Miller says a friend with him in the car had a small amount of the drugs.
Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake announced the decision to dismiss the case on Friday saying there was new information she did not outline what that information was. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News. "This is our glass. On this American life, when they mean like, it's a good mystery. Sometimes about really big things. But most times, the little mysteries are the best."
"Our lost and found is currently filled with pants. I don't know what I've never seen
this happen. This is true." Mysteries have every size, each week, this American life, wherever you get your podcasts.
