Life from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Skivone.
The Trump administration says the U.S. oil deal with Venezuela is a key part of
“that nation's eventual Democratic transition.”
And PR's Franco Ordonias has the latest. The U.S. has stated goal is not to just hold an election, but to create a lasting democracy. The U.S. official and not authorized to speak publicly says the existing government has been plundering the Venezuela oil industry for years. We've not for decades, dulling out its most valuable natural resources to other governments
for free or a dramatically reduced cost as favors or to pay off debt. All at the expense of the Venezuelan people. But the same official says U.S. investment will help re-establish the industry and assure that when a new Democratic government is installed, that it will be a healthy industry, which in turn would give those new leaders a better chance to succeed.
Franco Ordonias NPR News, the White House.
The Republican-led House will vote on whether to censor North Carolina Republican Chuck Edwards.
“NPR's Claudia Grisallis reports that this comes after a months-long House committee investigation”
into claims that he sexually harassed two female staff members. The House Ethics Committee recommended censure after it found Edwards created a hostile work environment fueled by sexual harassment and unwanted advances on two of his employees. These allegations he denies, however, the 65-year-old congressman ended his reelection bid last month on the day the panel shared its investigative findings.
A censure, which is tantamount to public shaming on the House floor, is the strongest punishment the panel could recommend short of expulsion. The bipartisan committee said Edwards gave the staffers gifts that included jewelry, totaling over a thousand dollars, designer purses, guns, shoes, vacations, and one-on-one dinners, Claudia de Salis, NPR News.
A week after Meta and a group of states settled a landmark lawsuit about child addiction to social media. There's a new study shown that adults also struggle with time spent on their phones, and PR's John Ruich has more. According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, more than half of adults in America
say they spend too much time on their smartphones. For 18-29-year-olds, it's 70 percent, about one in four adults in the U.S. say they're on their smartphones almost constantly.
Many appear to recognize that time spent on smartphones isn't always a good thing.
45 percent of adults surveyed report trying to cut back on their smartphone use in the past year, but about the same numbers say they haven't. Overall, most American adults think smartphones help them stay informed and connected to others. But many around 40 percent think it hurts the amount of sleep they get.
John Ruich and PR News. The S&P 500 closed downed a second day in a road today, losing 54 points. This is NPR. New U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets are underway, according to a social media post by U.S. Central Command.
The military says the strikes follow Iran's recent attempts to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and attempted Iranian strikes against U.S. service members deployed to the region. The diaries of a leading Palestinian writer have been sent to Scotland to avoid the risk of destruction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
And PR's Daniel Astrson reports on the archive documenting more than six decades of Palestinian life. The most celebrated Palestinian writer in the English language is Raja Shahadeh. The human rights lawyer and award-winning author has been keeping a daily diary documenting the Israeli occupation of the West Bank since it began in 1967.
Shahadeh told NPR he was worried Israeli military operations could destroy the archive. With the Gaza word and the destruction of so much of the archives in Gaza, I became really what it and thought that I must do something to preserve these diaries. After a two-year project of digitizing and secretly mailing the archive to the UK, the University of Edinburgh says it's making the archive available to the public.
Daniel Astrson and PR News, Tel Aviv. The National Weather Service says tropical storm Edward has made landfall and will saturate parts of upper Texas and the coast of southwestern Louisiana with heavy rain through tomorrow. At the same time, forecasts or safe flash floods and storm surges are possible in the central plains in mid-Atlantic states.
I'm Louise Kivone and PR News. At NPR, there's a little something for everyone. If you need advice for that big life change, try listening to life kit.
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