NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-03-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: December 3, 2025

NPR News: 12-03-2025 6PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 Pentagon's Inspector General concluded that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could have put U.S. troops in harm's way by sharing information. over Signal in March about a pending U.S. air strike in Yemen. NPR's Deirdre Walsh reports. A classified IG report delivered to Capitol Hill found that Secretary Hegeseth risked potential compromise of information that could have endangered the safety of U.S. personnel in the mission by using the messaging app signal. That's according to a source briefed on the report

who was not authorized to speak publicly. If intercepted by a foreign adversary, it could have led to harm. Hegeseth did not agree to an interview with investigators, but submitted written responses. He noted he has the authority to declassify material, but there was no indication he did before he shared it. An unredacted version of the report is expected to be released on Thursday. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News. And we should note, Catherine Marr, the CEO of NPR, chairs the board of the Signal Foundation. Starting tomorrow, a key vaccine advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and prevention will revisit the timing of a baby's first hepatitis B shot. Its members were handpicked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And the panel's recommendations affect

insurance coverage. From KFF Health News, here's Jackie 40A. Since 1991, babies have typically gotten their first hepatitis B shot within hours of birth. It protects them from the incurable virus that can lead to liver cancer. Babies need the shot even if their moms test negative for hepatitis B, said Sean O'Leary. He's an assistant professor of pediatric at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Babies can still get it from people in their own household. Hepatitis B can spread without direct contact through the bodily fluids of infected people. Sharing personal items like toothbrushes can be enough.

The CDC panel is expected to vote on new recommendations for the hepatitis B vaccine on Friday. Jackie 40A is with our partner, KFF, Health News. It was deja vu on Capitol Hill today as Jared Isaacman sat for a second Senate hearing. The wealthy private astronaut is again the nominee to leave. NASA. NPR's Nell Greenfield-Boyce reports that Isaacman was about to be confirmed for the post in the spring when President Trump abruptly pulled his nomination. Jared Isaacman said he wouldn't speculate about why the president renominated him. One senator asked about donations to Trump's super PAC, but Isaacman said it shouldn't be surprising that he supported the Republican Party

and that he donated far more to charitable causes. Pressed on his connections to SpaceX and Elon Musk, He said he was independent. In a world where everybody has a phone with a camera on it, there are no pictures of us at dinner, at a bar, on an airplane, or on a yacht, because they don't exist. He stressed the urgency of returning Americans to the moon before arrival, China gets there. Nell Greenfield-Boyce, NPR News. It's NPR. India is rolling back its order for smartphone manufacturers to pre-install a government-run cybersecurity app on new devices.

The country initially asked manufacturers to install the app within 90 days and prevent users from disabling it. The directive led to widespread concerns over data privacy. India says the app would help users block and track lost phones and shut down fraudulent connections. As Israeli strikes continue in Gaza, regardless of a ceasefire deal brokered in October, doctors in the Strip say that they are still struggling to keep up with the needs of the population. NPR's Hidal-Al-Shalchi brings this report. The Gaza Health Ministry says it will begin the rehabilitation of Al-Shifa Hospital. El Shifa, located in Gaza City, used to be the most important medical facility in the territory.

The complex itself was the size of four and a half football fields, but it's now a shell of its former self after two years of Israeli bombings. Dr. Naharine Ahmed traveled from the U.S. to volunteer at Al-S. She says one patient was a 14-year-old girl whose abdomen was shredded due to shrapnel during an Israeli attack earlier this week. She's currently extremely traumatized from a situation that should have never happened, given that there was a promise of a ceasefire. Ahmed says Palestinian doctors themselves are exhausted and hungry. Hadil al-Shalchi NPR News, Tel Aviv.

A record 64 nations will be in Friday's World Cup draw as FIFA expands the tournament from 32 to 48 teams. That means there will be 104 games during the international tournament next June and July instead of 64. The final will be at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. This is NPR News. 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.