NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-18-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

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This message comes from Bayer. Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing, transparency, and results that can be proven. This approach is integral to every breakthrough Bayer brings forward. Innovations that save lives and feed the world. Science Delivers.com Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. A five-day manhunt for a suspect in the mass shooting at Brown University last weekend is over. The man believed responsible for the killings of two people and the injuring of nine others at Brown

has been found dead in a storage facility in New Hampshire. FBI Special Agent Ted Dock says he apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Even though the suspect was found dead tonight, our work is not done. There are many questions that need to be answered. There's a lot of evidence that needs to be processed. And most importantly, the victims and their families deserve special care and consideration. Investigators are also looking into a possible connection between the attack on the Brown campus and the fatal shooting of an MIT professor in Massachusetts two days later. President Trump is reclassifying marijuana by loosening restrictions on the drug.

As NPR's Brian Mann reports, it also makes it easier to get coverage for medical marijuana research. As Trump signed the executive order, he said he's been lobbied heavily to loosen marijuana restrictions. We have people begging for me to do this, people that are in great pain. Marijuana has been classified as a Schedule 1 drug akin to heroin since the 1970s. Now it will be classified as a Schedule 3 drug, a category that recognizes its usefulness and low risk. Medicare insurance is also expected to cover some cannabis products beginning next year. Dozens of U.S. states have gone much further, fully legalizing marijuana, including for

personal recreational use. Trump said he's not ready to take that step. Brian Mann, NPR News. Leaders of the European Union and Ukraine are meeting in Brussels to discuss a proposal to provide financial support to Kiev for the next two years. As Terry Schultz reports, EU officials are seeking an agreement on a controversial plan to use frozen Russian assets. The main question is whether more than $100 billion worth of Russian funds frozen in EU financial institutions can be used for Ukraine. It's seen as a test of EU unity and support for Ukraine. Repayment would only be due if and when Moscow pays reparations to Kyiv. 90% of the frozen funds are held in Belgium and the country's prime minister says he's not willing to risk

having to pay back the loan. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky came to Brussels to try to push the plan over the finish line. We just need a bit more time, he says. EU officials warn leaders the summit will last as long as it takes to get a deal. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. The Labor Department says consumer prices rose by a smaller than expected 2.7% last month. Electric and natural gas costs rose sharply from a year ago, but the numbers may not be accurate because of a gap in collecting data during the government shutdown. You're listening to NPR.

The Department of Health and Human Services is issuing some new guidelines on the type of care hospitals may provide. The new rules ban Medicaid reimbursements to doctors and medical facilities providing gender-affirming care for minors. HHS says hospitals would lose all government funding if they perform the procedures. Kids and teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship, romantic role play, and emotional support. A new report from the Digital Security Company, ORA, shows that AI is becoming a key part of kids' lives. More from NPR's redo chattery. When kids use artificial intelligence tools, 42% of the time it's for companionship,

where kids engage with a chatbot for an ongoing conversation. And frequently, nearly 40% of the time, those conversations involve violent role-playing. Scott Collins is chief medical officer at ORA. It is role play that is interaction about harming somebody else, physically hurt, them, torturing them, fighting them, and a lot of it gets pretty graphic. These conversations also tend to be longer, he says, compared to when they use AI for help with homework. Among 13 to 17-year-olds, kids who spend more time online are also more stressed out by their digital lives. Rithu Chatterjee and PR News.

TikTok owner BightDance assigned a deal to spin-off its U.S. operations to a group of mostly American investors. The deal follows several deadlines to sell TikTok's U.S. assets or be banned in this country. This is NPR. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe.

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