NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-14-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: December 14, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. At least 16 people were killed in a mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach today. Authorities say at least 40 others were injured during a Jewish holiday event, marking Hanukkah. Police say one shooter is among the dead. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the attack was targeted. An act of evil anti-Semitism, terrorism that has strong. the heart of our nation. An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian, and every Australian tonight will be, like me, devastated. This is Australia's first deadly

mass shooting since 2022 when six people, including two police officers, were killed during a suspected ambush. The President of Israel is urging the Australian government to act against what he describes as a growing wave of anti-Semitism. The mass shooting at Brown University is renewing Democratic calls for stricter gun safety laws in the U.S. Two people were killed and nine others were injured in the attack on Saturday. NPR's Luke Garrett reports. Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, tells CNN he's not hopeful that GOP-controlled Congress will pass new gun legislation. The Republicans in Congress don't ever meaningfully break from this president.

So until they get the OK from President Trump to break with the gun lobby, I think the chances of us getting something done are slim. Murphy says the Trump administration's defunding of mental health and gun prevention programs is making the country more dangerous. Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana tells CNN Congress already passed a firearm safety law in 2022. And I would argue that if the facts are known, you will see that Congress has acted. According to data from the gun violence archive, this year, there have been at least 43 shootings on college or university campuses that caused injury, or death. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to eliminate thousands of staff positions, but as NPR's Quill Lawrence reports, the Trump administration says this will not affect veteran care or

their 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. This is NPR. Tarrantial rain from a powerful atmospheric river is causing historic flooding across parts of the Pacific Northwest. The governor of Washington State has declared a state of emergency and the National Guard has been deployed to assist with rescue efforts. A drug being developed by Eli Lilly could help patients lose more weight than similar drugs already on the market. NPR, Sidney Lupkin reports the drug is still in the experimental stages. Eli Lilly is the company behind Blockbuster Obesity Drug Zepbound.

Now it's working on a next generation medicine. Eli Lilly's experimental new drug is called Redatrutide. It's still being studied and hasn't yet been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for approval, but new study results show that patients taking the highest dose of the drug lost an average of 72 pounds. over 68 weeks, according to the company. Patients in the trial had knee arthritis. And researchers found that the drug also markedly reduced patients' knee pain. Side effects for red at Trutide included nausea, constipation, and vomiting.

Lilly said the results will be presented at a future medical meeting and published in a peer-reviewed journal. Sydney Lopkin and PR News. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is this year's Heisman-Trophy winner, becoming the first player from that state to claim college football's top individual honor. Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a perfect regular season, capio win over Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game. I'm Windsor Johnston and PR News in Washington.