US War Machine Takes Aim at Venezuela - The Thursday AM Quickie 10/16/25
If you're in New York or just care about the future of progressive politics, don't miss Zohran Mamdani trouncing Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Silwa in their first general election mayoral debate tonight. And remember, if you're anywhere in the US, there's probably a No Kings protest near you this weekend; they're gonna be big! - Corey
ON THE SHOW TODAY
10/16: Emma will be hosting solo; the guests will include David Sirota, founder of The Lever and co-author of the new book, MASTER PLAN: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America.
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Today you'll read about how many seats Republicans could pick up if the Supreme Court guts the Voting Rights Act, how Trump's unpopular Argentina bailout just keeps getting bigger, and how reporters at the Pentagon demonstrated solidarity in the face of censorship.
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THE BIG NEWS
Trump Escalates One-Sided Conflict with Venezuela
Hours after the New York Times reported yesterday that Donald Trump had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to carry out lethal covert action in Venezuela, Trump admitted as much to reporters at the White House. The reason? Alleged drugs trafficking and migration, in so many words.
Then he went farther, saying the US might strike targets on land in the socialist, oil-producing country, further increasing the risk of civilian casualties. "I don't want to tell you exactly, but we are certainly looking at land now because we have the sea very well under control," Trump said. On his orders, the US military has struck at least five civilian boats in the Caribbean sea off the coast of Venezuela, killing at least 27 people. NBC News reports that both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have left briefings on those strikes frustrated with the lack of information – and "also concerned about the level of precision of the intelligence used to determine targets and the possibility that an American citizen could be killed in the operations."
Per the Guardian, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the foreign relations committee, yesterday warned that Trump's orders to the CIA "slides the United States closer to outright conflict with no transparency, oversight or apparent guardrails." She added that “the American people deserve to know if the administration is leading the US into another conflict, putting servicemembers at risk or pursuing a regime-change operation."
Trump declined to reveal whether he had authorized the CIA to kill or otherwise remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying "wouldn't it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?" Maduro responded yesterday by denouncing Trump. "No to war in the Caribbean… No to regime change… No to coups d'etat orchestrated by the CIA," he said.