NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-01-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

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This message comes from Bayer. Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing, transparency, and results that can be proven. This approach is integral to every breakthrough Bayer brings forward. Innovations that save lives and feed the world. Science Delivers.com Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The FBI is still investigating last week's shooting in Washington, D.C., that left one National Guardsman dead and critically wounded another. The 29-year-old alleged gunman was wounded in an exchange of gunfire and still hospitalized.

As NPR's Tom Bowman explains, he worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan. He was a member of a paramilitary group called Zero Unit that operated out of the southern city of Kandahar, working with U.S. forces as well as the CIA. They were headquartered in a compound once owned by the Taliban's leader, Mullah Omar. Now, the Zero Unit was a highly select group that would mount night raids go after Taliban fighters. They were pretty brutal, and there were reports from human rights watched that they engaged in torture and also illegal killings. NPR's Tom Bowman reporting, artificial intelligence now touches most of daily life from asking chatbots for dating advice to planning vacations. And as NPR's Barber Sprunt reports, a nonprofit hopes to harness the power of AI to help elect independence to Congress next year. It's been 35 years since a new independent candidate won a house seat.

But the Independence Center wants to change that. The nonprofit is using AI to find congressional districts where voters are fed up with both parties. Strategists say they've identified 40 districts like that where independence could break through. The center plans on backing about a dozen candidates in the midterms next year. And with the extremely narrow balance of power in the House, just a handful of independents could prevent either party from getting a majority. Barbara Sprint and Peer News, Washington. Today, Cyber Monday caps the busiest shopping weekend of the year. New data suggests record spending.

Research at the Credit Card Network MasterCard shows sales at stores and online were 4% higher on Black Friday than the same time a year ago. NPR's Alina Selyuk reports at that rate, holiday spending is on track to top a trillion dollars for the first time. The MasterCard Economics Institute says online sales grew more than 10% compared to last year. There were big jumps in spending on clothes, jewelry, and electronics. Adobe Analytics, which tracks online transactions, forecasts that spending on Cyber Monday will peak in the late evening hours, with shoppers expected to spend $16 million every minute. In surveys, shoppers say they are concerned about tariffs, inflation, and economic uncertainty, but they're also eager for great holiday deals.

Retailers are luring shoppers with some of the deepest discounts of recent years, offered earlier in the season. Alina Selyuk, NPR News. Nearly 44% of the 16,000 truck driving schools in the U.S. may be forced to close after review by the Federal Transportation Department found they may not be complying with government requirements. The department says it plans to revoke the accreditation of nearly 3,000 schools unless they can comply in the next 30 days.

This is NPR News from Washington. The president of the International Criminal Court says the institution will not bow to pressure from the United States and Russia. Nine staff members, including six judges, have been sanctioned by the U.S. for investigations into U.S. and Israeli officials. Moscow has issued warrants for ICC staff following an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin. Judge Tomoko Okane says the court does not accept any kind of pressure. Pope Leo is visiting Lebanon today and meeting with Christian and Muslim religious leaders. He's seeking to promote religious talks.

Tolerance in a region scarred by conflict, NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports. Pope Leo began the day visiting a hilltop monastery with sweeping views of the sea to pray at the tomb of St. Sharbel Mahlouf, a Lebanese maronite revered by both Christians and Muslims. At another pilgrimage site, high in the mountains, Pope Leo heard testimonies, including from a priest helping refugees and a Filipino domestic worker about the treatment of migrants in Lebanon. Leo called on church workers to bring hope to their faith. saying that even among the rubble of a world that has its own painful failures, it's important to offer prospects for rebirth. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Beirut.

Belgian authorities are investigating the theft of a baby Jesus figure from a nativity scene in Brussels. The figures lack facial features and have sparked controversy online. Some critics, including a local political leader, have called the figures zombie-like. Authorities have replaced the stolen figure and plan to monitor the scene more closely. U.S. stocks dropped today after last week's rally. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and Cs apply.