NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-18-2025 7PM 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 Rylan Barton. For decades, marijuana has been considered one of the most dangerous street drugs in America by the federal government. Now President Trump is reclassifying it, clearing the way for more medical research and insurance coverage. NPR's Brian Mann reports. 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 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 and PR News. Congress has not renewed expiring subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans. As Blake Farmer of Member Station WPLN reports,

millions of Americans are now planning for reduced coverage or even going without health insurance altogether. Robert Sorrey of Thompson Station, Tennessee, has already talked to his psychiatrist about paying cash for his appointments every three months. That way, he can keep his prescriptions current, which he'll also have to find money for. I'm not somebody who gets sick super often, thank God. And if I do, generally I go to an emergency room,

where they're going to bill me later and I can get on a plan, you know what I mean? A repayment plan that he says he can pay over time. Sori works as a farm hand and was recently laid off. This year, he had been paying no monthly premium for his Affordable Care Act insurance thanks to the expiring subsidies. A new plan would cost him $70 a month, but he says he just can afford that. Up to 4 million Americans are estimated to do the same for 2026. For in PR News, I'm Blake Farmer in Nashville.

inflation slowed last month, according to data that was delayed and likely distorted by the government shutdown, and the consumer price index rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier. Inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve's target, and Americans are worried about the high cost of living, as NPR's Scott Horsley explains. Even if prices aren't going up as fast they once were, though, they're generally not coming down, and that remains a headache for a lot of family budgets, as well as a political problem for the White House. President Trump campaigned with a promise to lower prices, and his economic approval rating has dropped to just 36% in the latest NPR, PBS News, Marist poll. NPR's Scott Horsley reporting, a business jet has crashed at an airport in Statesville, North Carolina, erupting in a large fire and killing multiple people. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating, according to North Carolina Highway Patrol, seven are confirmed dead in the crash, including retired NASCAR star Greg Biffle, and members of his. family. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at

more than $10 billion. The statement has drawn an angry response from China. The agreement covers rocket and missile systems similar to what the U.S. had been providing Ukraine during the Biden administration. Kids and teens are turning to AI chatbots for companionship, romantic role play and emotional support. And a new report from digital security company, ARA, shows that AI is becoming a key part of kids' lives. NPR's Ritu Chatterjee reports. 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 hurting 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. A conservation fund has secured more than 3,300. acres of high priority wintering habitat for whooping cranes near Port Oranzas, Texas. It's one of North America's rarest birds with just hundreds left in the wild. The sanctuary will also serve as a wetland habitat for other species from birds to butterflies. I'm Rylan Barton. This is NPR News from Washington. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no

hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and Cs apply.