NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-18-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: December 18, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. Stocks opened higher this morning after a better-than-expected report on inflation. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 320 points in early trading. The Labor Department says consumer prices in November were up 2.7% from a year ago. That's a smaller annual increase than reported in September and cooler inflation than forecasters had expected. Analyst cautioned, however, the numbers may have been skewed somewhat by the the government shutdown, which prevented federal workers from conducting their usual price checks in October. Prices for electricity and natural gas are up sharply from a year ago, which is

likely to raise winter heating bills. The report comes as polls show Americans are broadly concerned about the high cost of living. That's putting President Trump, who campaigned on a promise of lower prices on the defensive. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. President Trump is blaming current economic problems on the Biden administration. In a speech from the White House last night, President Trump insisted that prices are falling. This, however, comes as polling fines. A strong majority of Americans say they are not feeling the economic relief that Trump is touting. The president has ordered a ban on all sanctioned oil tankers that are going to and from Venezuela. Not all tankers doing business with Venezuela are under sanctions, but the U.S. has seized one of them.

And MPR's Greg Myrie says this could affect Venezuela's oil income. This could be a major blow to Venezuela. The country is so dependent on oil exports, one of these fully loaded tankers can carry about $100 million worth of oil. And if the U.S. does seize more ships, this could have additional consequences. It may just scare away non-sanctioned tankers because they may just decide it's not worth the risk. NPR's Greg Mirey reporting. Israel has announced the biggest gas and defense export deals, its history. The multi-billion-dollar deals are intended to strengthen Israel's global position despite condemnation over the Gaza War. And peers Daniel Estrin has more from Tel Aviv.

The Israeli government says it's approved its biggest ever gas deal, a $35 billion agreement for U.S. company Chevron to deliver gas from the Mediterranean to Egypt, with about half of the proceeds going to Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it will contribute to stability in the region. Egypt isn't commenting on the politically sensitive deal, but being energy dependent on Israel could lead to improve ties between the countries following the Gaza war. The second deal Israel announced is its biggest ever defense export. Germany has expanded a contract to purchase Israel's Aero3 missile defense system for a total of about $6.5 billion.

Germany purchased that air defense system seeing Russia as a growing threat. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. You're listening to NPR News. from Washington. The Trump administration is expected to announce new proposals for hospitals next hour. These would effectively ban gender-affirming care for transgender young people. The first plan would prohibit Medicaid reimbursement funds for doctors and hospitals that provide this care for patients younger than 18.

The second proposal would block Medicaid and Medicare funding for these hospitals virtually. Every hospital in the U.S. takes Medicare, so the rule's effect would be far-reaching. President Trump has installed plaques beneath the White House portraits of past American presidents. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, the messages underneath the plaques are unconventional. The plaques mounted along the presidential walk of fame are packed with insults, including lines like, quote, Sleepy Joe Biden was by far the worst president in American history. And, quote, in 2016, President Clinton's wife Hillary lost the presidency to Donald J. Trump. And the biofer former President Reagan asserts that he was a fan of President Trump long before his historic run for the White House.

In a statement, White House press secretary Caroline Levitt says, quote, The plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each president and the legacy they left behind. As a student of history, many were written directly by President Trump himself. End quote. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Pope Leo has named a new archbishop for New York City. it's Bishop Ronald Hicks, who's currently serving Julia in Illinois. Like Pope Leo, Hicks was also born in Chicago. He will succeed retiring New York City Archbishop Timothy Dolan. You're listening to NPR.