NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-01-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: December 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Lawmakers from both parties are launching reviews of the Trump administration's strikes on alleged drug boats. The development comes after reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized a follow-up strike to kill defenseless survivors of a U.S. missile attack on a boat in the Caribbean Sea. Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly says Hegseth needs to answer questions about the strikes. With the consent of Republicans in the United States Senate, he has surrounded himself with people like the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who will do whatever he says with no question, no matter what. Trump and Hegseth, they care more about publicity than they do about

the rule of law. The White House says a Navy admiral ordered the second strike on the alleged drug boat, a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly, pushed back on the administration's narrative. The official told NPR that Hegseth ordered two strikes to kill and two additional strikes to sink the boat. Afghans who were in the process of settling in the U.S. say their dreams feel even further away. That's after an Afghan national shot and killed one national guard and wounded another in Washington, D.C. last week.

NPR's Adia Hadid reports. Following the deadly attack, the Trump administration announced all immigration requests of Afghan nationals would be halted indefinitely pending a review of vetting protocols. That's impacted thousands of Afghans within the U.S. and some 265,000 Afghans whose applications were being processed, like Ali and Afghan who lives in hiding in Pakistan. He requests NPR not use his full name.

He's at risk of deportation to Afghanistan, where he fears he'll be harmed or killed. He tells NPR, I can say that in these months, we got older than more than 10 or 20 years. Age 20 years, in just months. Dear Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai. A new deal between the U.S. and the U.K. would spare the U.K.'s drug exports from hefty tariffs. NPR's Sydney Lupkin has more. New drugs typically cost a lot more in the U.S. than they do in other countries. And the Trump administration has been announcing deals with drug companies to try to even the playing field.

Now the U.S. has a deal with another country, the U.K. The U.K. will increase the prices its health service pays for new medicines by 25 percent and will reduce rebates paid by drug makers. according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. In exchange, UK drugs, drug ingredients, and medical technology will be exempt from U.S. tariffs for at least three years. Sydney Lopkin, NPR News. The Northeast is gearing up for its first major snowstorm of the season after Midwesterners dealt with black ice, snow and fog over the weekend. Some parts of New England are expecting up to 10 inches of snow tomorrow.

More than 8 inches of snow fell at Chicago's, Chicago's O'Hare Airport. this weekend. This is NPR. Indiana lawmakers are gathering to possibly advance a bill to draw a new congressional map after pressure from the White House to boost Republicans' chances of gaining another seat. The state Senate initially rebuked the Republican governor Mike Braun's order for a special legislative session. Hong Kong authorities have made 10 more arrests linked to a deadly apartment fire in the region. At least 151 people were killed in the massive blaze, but about 40 are still missing.

NPR's Emily Fang reports the search for the remains continues. The search for more possible victims and the huge fire at Hong Kong's Wang Fook Court complex has been challenging, in part because the blaze was so hot many people reduced to ash, police said. 13 people have been arrested in total, suspected of using flammable materials not up to code, while preparing the buildings for renovation. Emails seen by NPR show at least one resident's advocacy group had emailed Hong Kong's Labor Department with at least two complaints about potentially flammable netting used to encase some of the buildings as early as July of last year.

Authorities also say flammable foam insulation in the building was not up to code. The fire is the deadliest in a century in Hong Kong, one of the densest and most expensive urban real estate markets in the world. Emily Fang and Pier News. Rage bait is the Oxford University Press's word of the year. the phrase refers to online content that's deliberately designed to elicit anger in order to drive traffic to a particular social media account, rage bait topped a shortlist including aura farming and biohack. I'm Ryland Barton. This is NPR News.