From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

Will the U.S. help Venezuela, or heard it?

Hello again, I'm Or Manalny, and this is To the Point.

After months of deadly protest over living conditions and human rights abuses,

President Nicolas Maduro is accused of running a phony election.

Official results from Sunday's voting replaced the previous General Assembly, with a new one

subject to his total control. President Trump has increased individual sanctions against Maduro

and other powerful figures, and there's talk of

interfering with the vital oil economy. Would that fend off a potential dictatorship, or give

Maduro the scapegoat he needs, possibly leading to civil war? Later on today's talking

points, small town America prepares for this country's first coast-to-coast total eclipse in a hundred years.

First, here's the news.

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Hello again, Warren. I'll need to back with To the Point. Venezuela is said to be on the verge of becoming a failed state,

and President Nicolas Maduro has increased political instability by staging what's called a fraudulent parliamentary election.

We heard about potential American sanctions. Will they make things better or worse?

Today's talking point, not since 1918, has the continental United States been in the path

of a total eclipse coast to coast when the moon completely covers the light from the sun.

We heard about the spectacle coming later this month and the impact on small towns

when millions of viewers crowd in to see it.

...