NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-14-2025 2PM EST

Episode Date: December 14, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump is offering his condolences to the families of the victims who were killed in a mass shooting at Brown University on Saturday. Two people died and nine others were injured. The president spoke from the White House just a short time ago. Brown University, great school, really, one of the greatest schools. anywhere in the world, things can happen. So to the nine injured, get well fast, and to the families of those two that are no longer with us, I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States

of America. Authorities have taken a person of interest into custody. The investigation into a motive is ongoing. The university has canceled all remaining classes and exams for the semester. The head of the United Nations is condemning a mass shooting that left at least 12 people dead at Bondi Beach in Sydney today. Adam Hancock reports the gunmen targeted members of the Jewish community during an event marking Hanukkah. UN chief Antonio Gutierrez has called Sunday shooting a heinous deadly attack on Jewish families. The gunmen shot at crowds on the beach during a mass celebration. Police say more than a thousand people were in attendance. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the shooting was an act of terrorism

that has struck at the heart of the nation. He described the attack as, quote, evil anti-Semitism. 29 people have been taken to hospitals following the shooting, including a child. One gunman was killed at the scene and a second suspect is in a critical condition. For NPR News, I'm Adam Hancock. Washington State is beginning to assess damage from historic flooding. Scott Greenstone with member station K-U-O-W has been following local leaders. After days of rain and clouds, mists burned off to blue skies this weekend in Monroe, north of Seattle,

allowing responders to take helicopters up and begin to see how far the waters reached. Democratic Congresswoman Kim Schreier represents part of the flooded area. It was practically unfathomable to think near where we were standing, there was water that would have been five feet over my head. She took a bus tour with other officials through soggy dairy farmland. While damage is widespread, so far the only fatality was outside the flood zone. A kayaker swept over a dam in Seattle by swollen currents. For NPR News, I'm Scott Greenstone in Monroe.

An Arctic blast is sweeping south from Canada into the northern U.S. Cities across the Midwest, including Chicago and and Minneapolis saw dangerous wind chills, temperatures and parts of North Dakota feel like minus 36 degrees. This is NPR News in Washington. The Palestinian militant group Hamas has confirmed the death of one of its senior leaders in an Israeli air strike. Some Palestinians say the attack which also killed five other Hamas fighters was a violation of the ceasefire. NPR's Anas Baba reports, hundreds of people attended their funeral today. The funeral of five Hamas fighters and senior commander Raid Saeed was held in a makeshift prayer space,

beside a rubble of one of Gaza's many destroyed mosques. Israel's Saeed Saeed was the deputy commander of Hamas's military wing. Crowds shouted resistant shants as the bodies wrapped in green flags were carried through the narrow alleys of a shaltic camp area of Gaza. Saad's killing marks the highest level assassination since a ceasefire deal was struck in October. In that period, Israeli forces have killed over 380 Palestinians. Hamas condemned the target attack as a violation of a truce and demanded the mediators, including the United States, should prevent further violations. Anas Baba and Pure News, Gaza City.

Ukrainian President Volodemir Zelensky is meeting with U.S. and European officials in Berlin, as efforts continue to negotiate an end to the war with Russia. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are taking part in the talks, which are scheduled through Monday. The meetings come as the Trump administration continues to push for a faster resolution to end the conflict. This is NPR News in Washington.