NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-16-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Prosecutors are charging Nick Reiner with murder for the deaths of his parents, Director Rob Reiner and Michelle Reiner. The couple were found stabbed to death in their home in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon. Here's L.A. District Attorney Nathan Hockman. These charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. No decision at this point has been made with respect to. the death penalty. Nick Reiner publicly struggled with mental illness and drug addiction.

Prosecutors say any evidence relating to his mental state will come out during court proceedings. Police say Nick Reiner was arrested in a public area near the University of Southern California campus without incident. President Trump is expanding his travel ban to five additional countries, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. In June, President Trump announced that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the U.S. The weekend attack on a a Hanukkah celebration in Australia that killed 15 people, along with a separate attack in Syria that killed two U.S. service members and a civilian are believed to have been inspired by the Islamic State Group. NPR's Scott Newman reports the incidents are raising questions

about a resurgence in the extremist group. Aaron Zelen, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says the Islamic State has been severely weakened since its peak a decade ago when it controlled vast territory across Iraq and Syria and carried out brutal killings broadcast on social media. But he says ISIS has continued to use social media to incite and encourage attacks in the West. ISIS never gives up. As long as they continue to have the will to fight, they'll use any means necessary to accomplish what they're trying to do. Last year, the Pentagon estimated that the Islamic State still had 2,500 fighters in Syria and Iraq.

Scott Newman, NPR News, Washington. Vice President J.D. Vance is the latest Trump administration official to visit Pennsylvania and tout the White House's work on economic issues. Jackson White from member station WITF reports many voters there say they haven't felt the economic boom Vance described. Yolene Scott makes about $25 an hour working in health care. She says that isn't enough to cover the bills for her and her 11-year-old son. It's like you can't live anymore. Electric bill is high. Gas prices are high. it's like you're just working to pay bills, but then you can't even eat.

Scott moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, eight years ago to escape the high prices of New York City. She's an independent voter who supports President Donald Trump. But Scott says she hasn't noticed a difference in prices since he entered office again this year. Scott does expect to benefit from Trump's tax cut on overtime pay. For NPR news, I'm Jackson White in Harrisburg. U.S. stocks drifted lower today following mixed data on the economy's strength. The S&P 500 fell two-tenths of a percent. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

Hyundai and Kia have reached a settlement with dozens of states to add anti-theft technology to vehicles at a cost that could top $500 million. Some models of the cars could be stolen with as little as a screwdriver and a USB cable leading to skyrocketing car thefts. A Dallas church is asking people to consider what it would look like if Jesus was born today, with a nativity scene that includes razor wire and an old shopping cart. from Member Station KERA, Marquita Fornoff reports. Silhouettes of Mary and Joseph are surrounded by chain link fencing topped with razor wire in front of Oak Lawn United Methodist Church. Their halos are made from discarded bicycle wheels, and the manger is an old tire.

Two burn bins and a shopping cart flank the scene. Reverend Rachel Griffin Allison says the arrangement reflects the lives of multiple people on the margins, like immigrants, refugees, and the unhoused. For her, the Christmas story is one of God. choosing vulnerability over power. Putting this installation out is not adding politics. It's removing the filters that maybe made the story feel safe in the first place because it never was. Griffin Allison hopes the Nativity expands viewers' ideas of who is holy. I'm Markita Fornoff in Dallas. Fans of Jane Austen are celebrating her 250th birthday with events in Britain and

beyond. Austin enthusiasts gathered for a church service in her home village and festive visits to her house today. Her novels, including Pride and Prejudice, sense and sensibility and persuasion remain relevant to this day. I'm Ryland Barton. This is NPR News from Washington.