NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-02-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

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During the holidays, there's a lot of pressure to make things perfect, but that can actually make the season less merry and bright. And I remember thinking, oh my gosh, in all the doing, I am not here, I'm not present, I am missing being. This week on the Life Kit podcast from the NPR Network, tips to make your holiday season actually enjoyable. Listen in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News, I'm Jail Snyder. Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has some questions to answer when it comes to that U.S. military attack on a boat, allegedly carrying drugs that included a second strike reported to have killed survivors. If there is anyone who needs to answer questions in public and under oath, it is Pete Hegsath. Kelly is among that group of congressional Democrats who appeared in a video reminding members of the U.S. military.

that they have a duty not to follow illegal orders. Both Democrats and Republicans have voiced concerns about the attack's legality. Hague Seth reportedly authorized the attack. The White House says it was carried out by Navy Admiral Frank Bradley, who was expected to be on Capitol Hill to answer questions on Thursday. The White House says President Trump's most recent medical exam confirmed that he remains in excellent health. MPR. Rob Stein has more on new information about the president's MRI scan. The White House released a statement from the president's physician stating that Trump remains, quote, in excellent overall health.

Questions about the president's health have been swirling since he underwent another exam in October that included a test known as an MRI. MRIs are sometimes used to assess the health of vital organs. The White House physician's statement says the president's imaging showed his heart, arteries, blood vessels, and other major organs all appear normal. Trump is 79, making him the oldest person ever elected as president. Rob Stein, NPR News. Lawyers for the man accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson are seeking to bar evidence from a state trial among the evidence at lawyers for 27-year-old Luigi Mangione want to prevent jurors from hearing.

It's a handgun that prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing a year ago this Thursday. There's also a handwritten notebook in which, Prosecutors say Mangione described his intent to kill a health insurance executive. European leaders say a lasting peace in Ukraine can only be achieved with robust security guarantees for Kyiv. Ukraine's European allies rallied around President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris Monday as Trump officials prepared to meet with their Russian counterparts in Moscow Tuesday. As M. Piers-Elein-Birdsley reports. Zelensky and President Macron spoke to the media. Through an interpreter, Macron said Russia has rejected every one of Trump's peace.

proposals. Then another proposal came through in June. We worked on it here in London. Russia said no. The Europeans are worried the Trump administration may substitute business deals for real diplomacy. After thanking Europe for its support, Zelensky said Russia should not have the impression that it's getting rewarded for this war. War, he said, should not be profitable. Eleanor Beardsley in Pierre News, Kiev. This is NPR. OPEC has decided to hold oil production steady for a while. That's a major shift since the group spent most of the year increasing oil production. As NPR's Camila Dominovsky reports, analysts have been predicting the possibility of an oversupply next year.

Saudi Arabia, Russia, and some other key members of the OPEC Plus alliance have been putting more barrels on the market this year. That's kept oil prices fairly low and put pressure on American oil producers who are OPEC's big rivals. But if OPEC members boost output too much, the price of oil might crash, which would cost them enormously. Analysts say the world is on track to have more oil than it needs. There's also just a lot of geopolitical tensions in the world right now that make firm predictions tricky. Over the weekend, OPEC members embraced a, quote, cautious approach and paused their production hikes. Camila Dominozki, NPR News. Alina Haba has been disqualified from serving as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor, a federal appeals court,

cited with a lower court's ruling in August that found Haba was unlawfully appointed. A three-judge panel unanimously upheld that ruling Monday, Haba is a former personal lawyer to President Trump. Cyber Monday could be in record territory, despite worries about the economy. Adobe analytics says online spending on Monday was up 4.5% from last year. As of Monday evening, Adobe said U.S. consumers spent some $9.1 billion online. Adobe expects consumers to spend a total of up to $14.2 billion on the day, which would bring online spending to nearly $44 billion. This is NPR News. This message comes from WISE, the app for using money around the globe.

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