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For half a century, one family has brutally ruled Syria. Nearly overnight, that reign ended. Syria is not only a home to millions of people. It’s also a crucial piece in a geopolitical chess game.

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You never know if president-elect Donald Trump is bluffing, but when you have billions of dollars on the line, you have to take him seriously. So car companies took notice, when Trump announced a plan for huge new tariffs in a social media post before Thanksgiving.

A 25 percent tax on imports from Canada and Mexico would have a major impact on the car industry, which depends heavily on cross border trade.

Trump’s tariffs could have huge consequences for the people who make cars, and the people who buy them.

Even if he’s bluffing, he has other big plans to shake up the auto industry.

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An epic poem and an epic reunion come to the big screen.

The Return looks for new meaning in Homer’s ancient story of Odysseus’ return to Ithaca — and to his wife Penelope.

We talk to co-stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.

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Syrian anti-government insurgents claim they have entered the city of Hama — a major Syrian government stronghold.

This continues their momentum over the last week, when they also seized Syria’s second largest city, Aleppo. Since the war started in 2011, half a million people have been killed and many millions of others displaced.

The Syrian Civil War has been locked in a stalemate for years. Now, rebel forces are gaining ground against the oppressive regime of Bashar al-Assad. Will the group ultimately end his control over the country?

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At the time we publish this episode, Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s pick to run the Pentagon, is struggling to hold onto his nomination.

There’s an ever growing list of accusations of sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and financial misconduct.

The former Fox and Friends weekend host has spent Wednesday meeting with Senators and doing interviews trying to control the damage.

Pete Hegseth’s nomination for Secretary of Defense hangs in the balance…will he survive?

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Just before Donald Trump took office the first time, he held a press conference, announcing that he would turn over control of his business empire to his sons.

He said he wanted to address concerns about conflicts of interest even though he maintained he didn’t really have to. Saying, “I could actually run my business. I could actually run my business and run government at the same time. I don’t like the way that looks, but I would be able to do that if I wanted to.”

Trump’s second term may put that theory to the test. The former and future president hasn’t yet announced any plan to wall himself off from his businesses while in office, and Trump’s businesses like his many hotels and resorts could benefit substantially from his actions as President.

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Hunter Biden no longer has to worry about going to prison.

That’s because his father President Joe Biden pardoned him with just weeks left in his presidency. The President’s son was convicted in June on federal gun charges. Hunter Biden lied about his addiction to crack cocaine when he purchased a gun. And he pleaded guilty in September for failing to pay more than a million dollars in federal taxes.

The younger Biden was due to be sentenced in both cases later this month.

President Biden has granted his son a sweeping pardon. What will that mean for his legacy… and for the future of presidential pardons?

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Donald Trump promises to deport millions of unauthorized immigrants once he returns to the White House. If he follows through, the scale of it would be unlike anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes.

Many supporters of Trump’s mass deportation agenda say expelling unauthorized immigrants will help the US economy. But a look back at America’s first major immigration crackdown suggests otherwise.

On this episode, host Adrian Ma and his colleagues from NPR’s The Indicator podcast look at that immigration crackdown during the ‘Chinese Exclusion Era,’ and the economic impact it had on the West.

For a deeper dive into the economic history of the Chinese Exclusion Era, check out the latest installments of Planet Money’s newsletter. In Part One, NPR’s Greg Rosalsky covers the economic circumstances that led to a populist anti-Chinese movement. In Part Two, he explains the ways (both legal and extralegal) that movement succeeded in driving Chinese immigrants away from the U.S. and the economic fallout that ensued.

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If you’ve followed Stephen Colbert’s career closely, you might have picked up on something. It’s there back in his days on The Colbert Report, when he issued a throw-down about the proper way to make barbecue sauce and that time on The Late Show, when he took calls on the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Colbert has opinions about food. Like, strong opinions.

And it turns out that’s true off-camera, too. Stephen and his wife, Evie McGee Colbert say they basically live in the kitchen.

Now they’ve written a cookbook: Does This Taste Funny? Recipes Our Family Loves. It’s a delightful window into their marriage and the food of the South Carolina Low Country where they both grew up.

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Thirteen bestselling cookbooks, a thriving food business in the Hamptons that she sold decades ago, and now her memoir “Be Ready When the Luck Happens” has hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list.

None of that was in Ina Garten’s plan.

Her legendary career began when she was working in Washington DC as a somewhat discontented government employee, and saw an ad for a food store in the Hamptons.

For this Thanksgiving, a holiday celebrating gratitude and food, we take a look at how Ina Garten built a successful business, powerful brand and happy life.

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