NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-17-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corvick Coleman, Congress has two days left to act on health care subsidies before lawmakers take off for the holidays. The subsidies are set to run out at the end of the year. The Senate failed to pass any measures last week. House Speaker Mike Johnson has a health care measure for his chamber, but it's expected to fail too. That means people who get subsidies are expected to see huge price increases. NPR Sam Greenglass says some congressional talks are still going on. Bipartisan talks are still happening among some rank-and-file senators, but most lawmakers have acknowledged a solution is not going to happen this year, which means premiums for many Americans are going to shoot up on January 1st. And B.R. Sam Greenglass reporting. Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is scheduled to testify privately before the House Judiciary Committee this hour. He brought federal charges against Donald Trump. That was for charges of keeping classified information at his Florida resort and for efforts to overturn the 20th. 20 election. Trump is consistently denied wrongdoing. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives

in 2021 over the Capitol riot, but acquitted by the Senate. The president is enacting travel restrictions on another 20 countries. He previously paused visa applications for people from 19 nations, as NPRServa Martinez Beltran reports. Trekers at Syracuse University say there are around 2.3 million immigrants awaiting hearings or decisions. They are all affected. by this freeze. Some have been waiting for years. Immigration lawyers say this keeps people who may not qualify for asylum waiting around in limbo, while people who may qualify are not getting their cases adjudicated either.

President Trump has also ordered DHS to review again the cases of around 200,000 refugees admitted under the Biden administration. This follows the shooting of two National Guard members last month. The suspect is an Afghan national who was granted asylum by the Trump administration earlier this year. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News, Austin. Stocks open mixed this morning as Warner Brothers urged shareholders to reject a hostile takeover bid. NPR Scout Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 212 points in early trading. In a letter to shareholders, Warner Brothers recommends that investors turn down an offer from Paramount Skydance to buy the company and instead stick with a rival offer from Netflix.

The studio says a merger with Netflix would be better for customers. and allow the company's movies and TV shows to reach a wider audience. The tug-of-war, over one of Hollywood's most famous brands, is expected to continue. Two big unions representing railroad workers are hoping to sidetrack a big freight rail merger. The unions representing engineers and maintenance workers warn the $85 billion coupling of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would increase safety risks and raise shipping prices. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. On Wall Street, the Dow is now up 225 points. You're listening to NPR.

President Trump will go to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today. He will witness the dignified transfer of remains of two Iowa National Guard members. Sergeant Edgar Torres Tovar and Sergeant William Howard were killed during an attack in Syria over the weekend. A U.S. civilian also died. Ayyat Sakad of Michigan was working with them as an interpreter. A Dallas church is asking people to consider. what it might look like if Jesus were born today. It is

put up an unusual nativity scene. From member station KERA, Marquita Fornoff has more. Silhouettes of Mary and Joseph are surrounded by chain link fencing topped with razor wire in front of Oakland 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-Alison hopes the Nativity expands viewers' ideas of who is holy. I'm Marquita Fornoff in Dallas. Health officials in South Carolina say there are 138 identified cases of measles in the state. Officials are warning the measles could spread further, especially in unvaccinated households. This is NPR.