NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-13-2025 10PM EST

Episode Date: December 14, 2025

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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, I'm Janine Herbst. At least two people are dead. Nine others are injured, eight of whom are in critical but stable condition,

in a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island tonight. Police are searching for the suspect described as a male wearing dark clothing. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley says they're releasing a short video of who they think is the suspect, but... We have no reason to believe that there are any additional threats at this time. Ian Donnis from Ocean State Media has more on where the shooting took place. This took place in an engineering building, and final exams were being taken in the building earlier the day. It's not clear if that was still taking place at the time when the shooting happened. The shelter-in-place order remains in effect. The Department of Veterans Affairs

plans to eliminate thousands of staff positions. And Pierce Quill Lawrence reports the Trump administration says this won't affect veterans' care or benefits. VA Secretary Doug Collins said on social media, the department will remove positions he called unnecessary, most of which have been unfilled for a year. He said VA hospitals will continue to fill vacancies as needed. A VA spokesman said that'll be about 25,000 jobs. About 30,000 positions have already been eliminated through attrition, early retirement, and deferred resignation since the Trump administration announced plans to downsize the VA. The lead Democrat on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, Richard Blumenthal, said continued cuts to VA's workforce are incomprehensible and inexcusable. And then

unfilled doesn't mean unnecessary. An Inspector General report in August found VA faces severe staffing shortages for medical officers and nurses. Quillarence NPR News. The Skagit River north of Seattle crested yesterday at a record high. Hundreds of people in western Washington who didn't evacuate in time had to be rescued from their homes, some from rooftops, and even their cars. Scott Greenstone from member station KUOW has more. In Burlington, just about an hour north of Seattle,

The water levels have begun to recede, and some people are returning to their homes assessing damage. Jocelyn Alme's home was still too submerged to get in, so a friend waited in to look in the windows and told her, He goes, all your couches are floating, all your stuff is just floating. He goes, your bananas are floating. And I said, oh, well, God, if we lost our bananas, we lost everything. We had in this back bedroom there was pictures that we had forever. That's her husband, Kenneth. Officials are saying it's still a little early to tell the extent of the damage statewide, especially with more rain in the forecast Sunday. For NPR News, I'm Scott Greenstone in Burlington. And thousands who did evacuate may not be able to return to their homes for days. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

The Church of England has produced a short Christmas video in a counter message to attempts by the far right. to turn the holiday into a celebration of Christian nationalism. Vicki Barker has more from London. The promotional video for far-right leader Tommy Robinson's Christmas Carol event promises it will, quote, put the Christ Christ back into Christmas. Robinson's Unite the Kingdom rallies have increasingly wed his anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant messages to the tropes of fervent evangelical Christian rhetoric, a new departure for British political discourse. So this appears to be the Church of England's response. It's Christmas. It belongs to us all.

And everyone's invited. A 43-second video insisting Christmas isn't canceled. The church's message, the story that has brought hope for more than 2,000 years, is open to everyone. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. Fernando Mendoza, quarterback of the number one ranked college football team, Indiana. won the Heisman trophy today, becoming the first Hoosier to win college football's most prestigious award. He guided Indiana to the top of the 12-team college football bracket, throwing for 2,980 yards, and 33 touchdown passes.

At the annual Army-Navy football game in Baltimore today, the midshipman beat the Black Knights for the second year in a row, winning 17 to 16, and taking the Commander-in-Chief's trophy, President Trump, joined the teams for the coin toss. You're listening to 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.

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