Month: October 2025

US President Donald Trump has confirmed he has authorised the CIA to carry out secret operations in Venezuela, and that he is considering attacks on Venezuelan territory.

It follows a series of strikes by the US military against alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean, which have killed 27 people.

Also in the programme: A phone conversation between Putin and Trump ahead of President Zelensky’s visit to Washington - and the queen of de-cluttering, Marie Kondo, explains what the world doesn't understand about her native Japan.

(Photo: Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at a demonstration to mark Indigenous Resistance Day. Credit: Reuters /Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

California’s Prop 50 could completely erase Republican representation in elections.

The measure would hand Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration the power to redraw California’s congressional districts. Supporters say the measure simply mirrors what Texas has done to strengthen Republican representation, but Hanson argues this is a blatantly partisan effort to cement Democrat control and eliminate what little Republican representation remains in California. He breaks it down on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

“Gavin Newsom, moreover, when he's been asked about that, he says that he wants to punch these people. I guess he was referring to Republicans in general or the Texas Republicans in particular. He wants to ‘punch them in the mouth.’  He said he wants to punch Donald Trump in the mouth. The rhetoric is heating up but will Proposition 50 pass in a state that is 60%, in most elections, voting toward the Left or for Democrats? It probably will. And we in California who are on the conservative side will go from 17% representation—not 40%, of which reflects our actual numbers, but 17%—now to about 9% after Proposition 50 passes.”

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(0:00) Prop 50 Controversy
(3:07) California’s Congressional Representation
(5:09) Future Implications

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P.M. Edition for Oct. 16. The auto-parts giant First Brands’ bankruptcy leaves investment bank Jefferies in the harsh spotlight of an accounting scandal. Plus, the endowments of American colleges posted their strongest returns in years. And after strong bank earnings this week, Heard on the Street writer Telis Demos discusses what might be missing in their reflection of the health of the economy. Sabrina Siddiqui hosts.

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16 days into the government shutdown, services are unavailable and federal workers are facing instability. Both sides have dug in, with Democrats and Republicans pointing fingers at each other. WSJ’s Siobhan Hughes explains what it would take to end the shutdown. Ryan Knutson hosts.

Further Listening:

-Why This Government Shutdown Is Different

-Kathy Hochul on Mamdani, Trump and Where Democrats Went Wrong

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