NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-02-2025 2AM EST

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Jail Snyder. As the investigation into last week's shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members intensifies, the Afghan man accused of carrying out the attack appears to have suffered a personal crisis. NPR's Brian Mann spoke with a refugee resettlement volunteer who worked closely with Robinula Lackenwall. The volunteer who worked with Lackenwall in Bellingham, Washington, spoke with NPR on condition of anonymity because they said they feared for their safety. When they first worked with Lackenwall in 2022, he appeared hopeful and outgoing. But by 2023, his condition appeared to worsen as he struggled to find steady work.

My biggest concern was that he would harm himself, the volunteer said, I worried he would be suicidal. Homeland Security Secretary Christy Nome said Sunday Lackenwal appeared to be radicalized after coming to the U.S. from Afghanistan. But the volunteer who worked with Lackenwall and his family said there was no sign of that. They described an individual who seemed to be experiencing a deepening personal crisis. Brian Mann and PR News. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly says President Trump crossed the line and calling out a video he and other Democrats made, telling service members not to obey illegal orders. And Pierce Dieter Walsh reports.

Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly says the president is trying to bully his critics, but it won't work. Everybody needs to wake up. The occupant of the Oval Office is ignorant to the Constitution and has no regard to. for the rule of law. Kelly defended the video that he and other Democrats with military and intelligence backgrounds recorded, saying it was a simple message that everyone must follow the law. He said since the president and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegeseth criticized him and the other lawmakers, threats against his family have increased. The senator indicated he has not received any formal request for an interview yet, but would follow the law in any probe. Deirdre

Welsh, NPR News, Washington. are growing about whether that September attack on an alleged drug boat came in the Caribbean was lawful. A published report last week, said Defense Secretary Pete Higgseth issued a verbal order for the boat's crew members to all be killed.

A new survey says U.S. factories continue to struggle in the face of President Trump's tariffs on foreign-made goods and products, as NPR Scott Horsley reports. President Trump's tariffs are supposed to provide a boost for U.S. manufacturing. But month after month, surveys from the Institute for Supply Management

show the import taxes having the opposite effect. Susan Spence, who oversees the survey, quotes the manager of one company that makes transportation equipment, who says that company is shifting more production out of the U.S. to avoid the cost of higher tariffs. As painful as they are, it's still cheaper to go ahead and manufacture overseas, so not having the intended effect, unfortunately. Another factory manager says the trade confusion caused by the tariffs is worse than what factories face during the peak of the pandemic.

You're listening to NPR News. Authorities in California asking for help from the public as they search for anyone responsible for the Saturday evening shooting at a toddler's birthday party. Officials say three children ages 8, 9, and 14, and a 21-year-old man were killed and 11 others were wounded when gunfire erupted inside a banquet hall in Stockton. No arrests had been made, and authorities are urging witnesses to come forward. Apple says ahead of its artificial intelligence, intelligence efforts is stepping down. The company has been the target of criticism for its approach

to AI, a field where competitors have invested far more in our garnering more buzz. Here's Impeer's John Ruich reporting. John Giann-Andrea is stepping down from his post after seven years at Apple. In a statement online, the company said he played a key role in its AI and machine learning strategy, developing and deploying critical AI technologies. But some critics have expressed concern about what they see as a conservative and slow approach by Apple to what many believe is shaping up to be a transformative technology. Apple has largely stayed out of the AI chatbot market, and its promises to upgrade its on-device personal assistance, Siri, have been delayed. Apple says John Andreo will be replaced by Amar Subramania. He comes to Apple after a stint as vice president for AI at Microsoft,

and after 16 years at Google, where he worked on its AI chatbot Gemini. John Rewich, NPR News. The Northeast preparing for its first major snowstorm of the season. Forecasters say parts of Northern New England could see up to 10 inches of snow on Tuesday. The National Weather Service boasted winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and Maine. This is