NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-01-2025 9AM EST

Episode Date: December 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corva Coleman, President Trump's special envoy, Steve Whitkoff, he is going to Moscow today. He's expected to discuss weekend talks held in Florida with Ukrainian officials. Whitkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio say these talks were productive, but Rubio says more work is needed. We don't just want to end the war. We also want to help Ukraine be safe forever, so never again will they face another invasion? And, equally importantly, we want them to enter an age of true prosperity. reviewed a new U.S. peace plan for Ukraine and Russia, it was initially criticized as heavily favoring Moscow. Ukrainian and European officials have work to change it. President Trump says he spoke directly with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by phone last week. This comes as

Congress is investigating the Trump administration's deadly boat strikes in the Caribbean. Trump says, without proof, the U.S. military is attacking drug traffickers. The medical journal JAMA is publishing new guidelines from the World Health Organization. These focus on the treatment of obesity and the use of GLP1 therapies, such as OZMPIC. And Pierre's Gabriela Emmanuel has more. Worldwide, obesity affects over one billion people, and that's projected to rise to $2 billion by 2030. Francesca Chiletti is with WHO and co-authored the guidelines. We have never had guidelines on the treatment of obesity before, and in the fact, guideline on GLP-1 therapies.

The guidelines say it's critical that GLP-1s are part of a broader medical plan, including physical activity and management of chronic diseases linked to obesity. They also call for equitable access to GLP-1s that prioritizes those with the highest need, as well as more research on long-term use and safety. Gabriella Emmanuel and PR News. Thanksgiving travelers faced flight delays and rough driving conditions over the weekend, snow and ice-blanketed parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes region. As MPR's Marie-Andrusovich reports, a fresh blast of wintry weather is on the way,

especially for the northeast. Thousands of flights were canceled as hubs got hit with heavy snowfall, including a November record 8.4 inches at Chicago's O'Hare. Now, a new system will spread from the Central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic through New England, leaving as much as a foot of snow. National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Orison, says East Coast cities will mostly be spared. There may be some minor accumulations, perhaps from, let's say, areas north and west of

Baltimore, on up through Philadelphia, New York City and up to Boston, but it's mainly going to be the interior areas where the heaviest accumulations are going to be. Over the next couple of days, well below average temperatures are expected in the eastern and central states. Marie Andrewsovich, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. President Trump says he will pardon the former president of Honduras won Orlando Hernandez. He was convicted in the U.S. for helping drug traffickers move tons of cocaine into the country.

This comes as officials in Honduras are counting votes from the country's election. Trump is weighed in to support the conservative candidate who has taken an initial lead. Separately, the president has set free, former U.S. financier David Gentile. Gentile had been sentenced to prison for defrauding thousands of people out of more than $1.6 billion. He could still face penalties. A pair of blockbuster sequels packed movie theaters this holiday weekend, and P.Rs Bob Mandello has details.

Rabbits and Foxes and Witches, oh my. Stream team. Disney's Utopia 2. I want the Fox and the Rabbit. And the Oz prequel sequel, Wicked for Good. Think of what we can do together. Are burning up the cinema turnstiles with what's predicted to be a combined Thanksgiving weekend total of a quarter of a billion dollars in North America.

The zoo critters lead with roughly $155 million, while in their second week, the pink and green witches are collecting about $95 million. Combined, that puts them well ahead of the top five hits in most pre-pandemic weekends, but behind last year's all-time power couple, the first Wicked and Moana 2. Bob Mandello, NPR News. The WNBA and its players union have agreed to extend their contract through January. January 9th, negotiators decided to extend the contract for a second time, minutes before it ran out last night. Some issues include player salary caps. This is NPR.