NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-17-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: December 17, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. With the search for the Brown University shooter in its fifth day, the city of Providence is on edge. Authorities in Rhode Island are asking the public to review any security or phone footage from the week before the shooting. Here's Providence Chief of Police, Oscar Perez. So we have released this enhanced photo earlier today, and I want to be clear that this is a person that we would like to speak with. We truly believe, based on the video footage that we have been watching for a few days, They may have relevant information to the investigation. So we're asking the public that you can help us identify who this individual is.

Investigators are showing no signs that they're close to figuring out who was behind the attack that killed two students and wounded nine others. President Trump will address the nation tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern. The White House says it'll be a look back at his first term in office and also at his second term in office and also look ahead at what's to come. But Trump's remarks come as polling shows voters are not happy with high prices. NPR's Adipa Shiveram reports. A new poll from NPR, PBS News Hour, and Marist shows just 36% of voters approve of Trump's handling of the economy. It's historically been a strong issue for him, but high prices are a top-of-mind

concern for Americans. Trump has repeatedly said that he inherited a bad economy from the previous administration, and he insists his economy is doing great. In this address, the White House says he'll discuss border security and the lower cost of gas. He's also likely to touch on other points to try to sell his economic agenda, like the recently announced Trump accounts, which are $1,000 one-time deposits for kids born between 2025 and 2008. Deepa Shiverom and PR News. Less than a year into his second term, Trump has issued more executive orders than he did in

his entire first term. According to Pew Research, Trump has issued 221 executive orders since January. But the record goes to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who issued more than 11. 1,100 orders in his second term. The U.S. is trying to push to the next stage of the ceasefire in Gaza, but as NPR's Daniel Estrin reports, many of the plans for Gaza could take months to implement. The U.S. is aiming to have an international stabilization force in Gaza by early next year. But countries have not yet publicly committed troops, and there are still disagreements on where they'd patrol and what they do. U.S. State Department documents obtained by NPR show that the Trump administration wants international troops to support the disarmament of Hamas.

But many countries that are considering sending troops don't want them to confront Hamas over its weapons. The U.S. wants the International Stabilization Force to incorporate new Palestinian police officers as they're trained. The European Union plans to train them. A European official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NPR, most Palestinian police would likely begin training by April at the earliest. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is NPR News. New York is set to become the latest state to legalize medically assisted suicide for the terminally ill.

New York Governor Kathy Hochle says she'll sign a bill after hearing from New Yorkers in the throes of pain and suffering while also considering the faith-based opposition. A dozen other states in the District of Columbia have legalized medically assisted suicide with strict guidelines. The U.S. Postal Service is planning to allow businesses to make bids for some. delivery services starting next year. NPR's Hansi Lo Wong reports it's part of a new plan for stabilizing the mailing agency. The U.S. Postal Service has usually prioritized big businesses like Amazon when offering special shipping rates for its nationwide delivery service. But the mailing agency says in early 2026 it's going to start accepting bids from smaller businesses too. The move comes after Postmaster General David Steiner warned the Postal Service's financial

situation is unsustainable. USPS generally receives no tax dollars and relies instead on shipping and stamp fees to keep running. In the past fiscal year, the Postal Service had a net loss of $9 billion. USPS says it's confident allowing smaller shippers to bid for its special delivery services will help boost its revenue. But some shipping industry experts say the move could push bigger shippers to stop relying on USBS and that could further destabilize the agency. Onzi Luong, NPR News.

A wildlife photographer has discovered one of the oldest and largest collections of dinosaur footprints in an Italian national park, as many as 20,000, footprints dating back to about 210 million years ago to the Triassic period. This site is near the 26 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic venue of Borneo. Lombardy's governor called it a gift for the Olympics, which are set to begin in February. This is NPR News.