NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-02-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: December 2, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. The investigation into last week's shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members is intensifying. But NPR's Tom Bowman says a motive has yet to emerge. We know the FBI said it sees laptops and phones from his home. He lived with his wife and five children in Bellingham, Washington, north of Seattle. The U.S. Attorney's Office said as soon as he's medically able, he'll appear in federal court. The suspect was shot and wounded during the attack. He is an Afghan refugee who worked with the CIA during the war in Afghanistan. The suspect reportedly had isolated himself and grown distant from family and friends. The White House is acknowledging that a second strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat in the Caribbean happened on September 2nd and specified that Navy Admiral Frank Bradley carried out the order in Pierce Daniel Kurtzleben has more. Defense Secretary Pete Higgseth ordered the first strike on the boat and a subsequent strike that killed all survivors on board, as NPR has previously reported. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt defended that second strike at her latest briefing.

With respect to the strikes in question on September 2nd, Secretary Hegseth authorized Admiral Bradley to conduct these kinetic strikes. Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have said that the second strike may have constituted a war crime. Danielle Kurtzleben and PR News, the White House. Voters in Tennessee are preparing to go to the polls. He'll be voting today in a special election for a U.S. House seat that's seen as a bellwether for next year's midterms.

Tennessee's 7th Congressional District is usually reliably Republican, and President Trump carried the district by 22 percentage points in 2024. but polls show the race is well within the margin of error. Delegates from the U.S. and Russia are preparing to meet in Moscow today to discuss the proposal to end Russia's nearly four-year, full-scale war in Ukraine. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports this comes as Ukraine's President Zelensky met with allies in Paris. Zelensky was welcomed by an honor guard at the Elyze presidential palace. President Emmanuel Macron said the U.S., Ukraine, and Europe want peace,

but there are doubts Russia is serious. He said the Kremlin had turned down four proposals and continues to bomb Ukraine nightly. The two leaders spoke by video to dozens of European leaders and allies in the coalition of the willing, the force committed to guaranteeing peace in Ukraine once the fighting stops. Macron and Zelensky also spoke to U.S. Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff

and President Trump. Their message, Ukraine and Europe must be at the negotiating table for a robust and lasting peace. It's their territory and security at stake. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Keeve. This is NPR. Northeast is preparing for its first major snow storm of the season. Forecasters say parts of northern New England could see up to 10 inches of snow today.

The National Weather Service has posted winter storm mornings and winter weather advisories in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, and New York. A federal appeals court has disqualified. a former Trump lawyer from serving as New Jersey's top prosecutor. MPR's Kerry Johnson reports on this latest challenge to the way the administration is installing federal prosecutors. The three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously ruled Alina Haba is disqualified from supervising cases. The court found Haba had been put into the U.S. attorney job in New Jersey in an unlawful way. The Trump administration's been frustrated in advancing some of its

nominees for those top prosecutor jobs. But the court said people in New Jersey and loyal workers at the Justice Department deserve some stability and clarity. Similar challenges are underway to Trump prosecutors in California, New York, Nevada, and Virginia. A court there dismissed indictments against former FBI director Jim Comey and New York Attorney General Tish James based on the appointments issue. Carrie Johnson, NPR News. Adobe Analytics says online holiday spending on cyber. Monday was up 4.5% from last year. As up Monday evening, Adobe said U.S. consumers spent some $9.1 billion online. Adobe expects consumers to have spent a total of up to 14.2 billion on the day. I'm Giles Snyder in PR News.