NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-13-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: December 13, 2025

NPR News: 12-13-2025 7AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. The Navy Admiral, responsible for all U.S. military activity in Central and South America, has stepped down. Admiral Alvin Holsey handed off command responsibilities Friday amid concerns about the Trump administration's controversial boat strikes in the Caribbean. Meantime, other members of the military are seeking advice from outside groups, fearing they could face legal consequences for any involvement in the deadly strike. on suspected drug boats. Here's NPR's Ryan Lucas reporting. The Trump administration says the strikes are legal and aimed to stop the flow of illicit drugs. But experts, including former military lawyers, disagree. The vast gulf over the lawfulness of the operations

is putting American service members in a tough spot, prompting some to seek outside legal guidance. We're receiving a lot more calls in the last three months than we did before. That's Frank Rosenblatt with the Orders Project, a non-partisan group that provides legal support for members of the U.S. military. His organization and others NPR spoke with say they've received calls from service members, including staff officers and at least one drone pilot, with concerns about potential legal blowback for themselves for taking part in the campaign.

Ryan Lucas NPR News, Washington. Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Stephen Lynch serves on the House Oversight Committee, which released that batch of photos from the late Jeffrey Epstein's estate. If the Republicans had their way, well, most of them, we wouldn't be. doing this at all. We've benefited from a small handful of, I think, courageous Republicans who have joined with us in demanding the release of these files. The photos include images of President Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and others. They are among tens of thousands received by the House Oversight Committee from Epstein's estate. The Trump administration accuses House Democrats

of cherry-picking the photos to embarrass President Trump, who has told reporters that they are not a big deal. The week on Wall Street, dominated by the Federal Reserve and worries about the tech bubble, as NPR's Maria Aspen reports, all three major U.S. stock markets were down on Friday. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates again, as widely expected. And said it's entering weight and C mode about the economy. Investors responded by sending the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs on Thursday. It was a good week for non-tech stocks, like United Health Group and Johnson and Johnson. But the big tech companies that have been dominating the markets sparked more fears about an AI bubble. Shares in Chipmaker Broadcom plunged. Asid shares in Oracle, Larry Ellison's cloud computing company.

Ellison's family is also trying to buy Warner Brothers Discovery. He ended the week billions of dollars poorer on paper, though he's still one of the wealthiest people in the world. Maria Aspen, NPR News, New York. And you're listening to NPR News. Millions of Americans will see another round of extreme cold over the coming days. NPR's Matt Bloom reports a mass of Arctic air is forecast to move south from Canada. A deep pool of frigid air currently building over northern Canada is set to surge into large portions of the central and eastern United States this weekend, bringing some of the coldest temperatures of the season so far. Meteorologists say this mother load of Arctic air could drive daytime highs into the single digits across parts of the Midwest and overnight lows well below zero with dangerously low wind chills. Forecasters warn that more than 200 million people could experience below average temperatures with a one-two punch of Arctic blasts tracking from the Northern Plains into the northeast.

Matt Bloom and PR News. Photos and videos show widespread damage with entire communities and neighborhoods flooded around western and central Washington State. The region was hit this week with a record high floodwaters sparked by a string of atmospheric river storms. Officials say they expect the water to slowly recede today, but they're also warning of flood that floodwater will remain high for days and that there is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow. American skier Lindsay Vaughan nearly did it again. She finished second in a World Cup downhill at Sam Maritz today. Yes, Trayvon became the oldest winner in the circuit's history. She's 41, and she won the seasons opening downhill by nearly a full second.

She returned to skiing last season, and nearly six years after retirement, following a partial replacement surgery on her right knee. This is NPR News.