NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-18-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: December 18, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Krova Coleman. The House has passed a group of health care provisions backed by Republicans. These are intended to lower health care costs for some people, including those working for small businesses. But NPR Selena Simmons-Duffin reports this does not extend the subsidies for people paying for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Partly Republicans don't like the Affordable Care Act and they don't want to vote to shore it up. They say the enhanced subsidies are just papering over the high cost of health insurance. Also, they say that it's a really small portion of the population that relies on these plans, only about 7% of Americans. Most people get their insurance through their jobs or through Medicaid or Medicare. So Republicans seem to be making the calculation that even if some of their voters are on the hook for these higher premiums, it might not be enough to hurt the party politically. And Pierre Salina Simmons-Duffin reporting. Separately, four Republicans joined Democrats in the House that would sign to sign a measure that would force the House to take over. vote on extending the subsidies. No action is expected on any of these measures until January. That's

after costs will go up for many people on ACA plans. At least two Democratic senators have put a hold on the nominee for Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports that's because of a new Coast Guard policy on hate symbols. Senators Jackie Rosen of Nevada and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois both said they had spoken with acting commandant of the Coast Guard, Kevin Lunday, after reports in the Washington Post that a Coast Guard manual would describe symbols like swastikas and nooses as just potentially divisive and not as symbols of hate. Lunday released a statement in November that Coast Guard policy prohibits such hate symbols, but this week the manual came out with the ambiguous language.

The Coast Guard sent a response from the Department of Homeland Security to NPR that the new language actually strengthens the ability to report, investigate, and prosecute those who violate long-standing policy. Quillarence NPR News. Nick Reiner's made his initial court appearance. He's accused of killing his parents, Director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle. Steve Futterman reports from Los Angeles. The hearing was brief, lasting only a few minutes. The scheduled arraignment never took place. Nick Reiner's attorney immediately asked for a delay until January 7th. Reiner, who was shackled to a chair and wearing a suicide prevention smock, was asked if he was willing to waive his right to a speedy arraignment, he said yes. After the hearing, Reiner's attorney,

Alan Jackson, spoke to reporters. There are very, very complex and serious issues that are associated with this case. They need to be thoroughly, but very carefully dealt with. Reiner remains in jail at the moment. This is a no-bail case. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman at the county courthouse in Los Angeles. This is NPR News. Pope Leo is named a new archbishop for New York City. It's Bishop Ronald Hicks, currently serving Juliet, Illinois. Like Pope Leo, Hicks was also born in Chicago. He'll succeed the retiring New York City Archbishop Timothy Dolan.

New York is one of the largest Catholic archdioceses in the country. The Senate has confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new head of NASA. NPR's Nell-Greenfield-Boy's reports, Isaacman is taking charge of the agency at a critical time. Jared Isaacman is a businessman who flew to space twice in SpaceX capsules. On one of those flights, he and a crewmate opened up a hatch and performed the first private spacewalk. President Trump nominated him to lead NASA, but then abruptly withdrew that nomination in the spring, only to renominate him in November.

Isaacman is becoming administrator as NASA prepares to send astronauts on a trip around the moon next year, making it the first time people have gone there in more than a half century. The hardware needed for landing on the moon, however, is still in development. And Isaacman has said that it's vital for a U.S. landing to happen before arrival, China, gets astronauts to the lunar surface. NL Greenfield's voice, NPR News. The private space company, Blue Origin, is set to launch a crude rocket into space this morning from southern Texas. One of the crew is a German aerospace engineer, Michaela Benthouse, is with the European Space Agency. She's also set to become the first wheelchair user to fly into space. I'm Corva Coleman and PR News from Washington.