NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-19-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: December 20, 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, I'm Dale Wilman. The Justice Department began its release of files related to the life and death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein today. NPR Stephen Fowler, Report.

On the Justice Department website, justice.gov slash Epstein, federal officials have launched a library with some of the files related to the Epstein case. NPR is reviewing the documents, which include court records, Freedom of Information Act records, and files released under a law signed by President Trump last month. Many of the documents were already public. And while the law states all files the government possesses should be released by today, the DOJ says it expects more disclosures in the coming weeks. Stephen Fowler, NPR News. A federal court has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's controversial overhaul of homelessness funding. As NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports, the judge also accused the federal housing agency HUD of intentionally causing chaos. In an oral ruling from the bench, Judge Mary McElroy in Rhode Island says it's likely HUD's overhaul is unlawful and agreed with critics that it could push many people back into homelessness in the middle of winter causing irreparable harm.

Hutt has sought major cuts to permanent housing and instead wants to beef up transitional housing that requires people to work and get treatment. But the overhaul was announced so late in the year, many places are set to run out of money before new funds flow. If HUD really wants to change policies so dramatically, the judge said, it needs to do the work and go through Congress. Instead, she said, the chaos seems to be the point. Jennifer Lutton and Pierre News, Washington. The Department of Defense is spending two. $2.6 billion meant for housing assistance on a bonus to troops. Steve Walsh, a member station WHRO in Norfolk has our story.

The White House is calling it the Warrior Dividend, 1.28 million active duty troops, and 174,000 members of the reserves are in the process of receiving a one-time payment of $1,776. President Trump says that the money is in honor of the country's 250th anniversary next year. The funds are actually from $2.9 billion set aside by Congress to supplement the money given troops to pay their rent or mortgage. According to a Defense Department official who was not authorized to speak publicly, the Defense Department says the $1,776 will arrive over the next few days. For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh. A jury in Minnesota awarded $65.5 million today to a woman who claimed Talcum products made by Johnson and Johnson exposed her to a

and contributed to our developing cancer. The company says it will appeal the verdict. It's the latest development in a long-standing legal battle over such claims. Stocks finished up on Friday. The Dow's Jones Industrials were up 183 points. The NASDAQ ended up to day 301 points. This is NPR News. A new study finds people who regularly consume high-fat cheeses may have a lower risk of dementia.

But as NPR's Alison Aubrey reports, nutrition experts say there's a catch. The study included nearly 28,000 people who were in their late 50s when the study began. They were surveyed about their eating habits and after about 25 years of follow-up, it turned out, higher intake of high-fat cheese was associated with a slightly lower risk of dementia. However, scientists who reviewed the data say this association does not prove that high-fat cheese protects the brain. Those who consumed about an ounce and a half of cheese or more per day, had about a 13% lower risk, which could be explained by chance. Also, researchers only captured a snapshot of participants' dietary habits.

Given the risk of dementia is determined by many factors, from genes to lifestyle habits, scientists warn against reading too much into the findings. Alison Aubrey, NPR News. The 95-year-old Black Hawk Bridge that crossed over the Mississippi River was imploded on Friday. The span now sits half submerged in the river. The bridge connected Lansing, Iowa to Wisconsin. It had been closed since October. It will now be replaced by a new structure that's expected to open in 2027.

Communers will use a ferry until then to cross the river. Federal investigators are examining the wreckage of a business jet that crashed in North Carolina this week, killing NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his family, and three other people. The C-550 burst into flames as it was attempting to return to a North Carolina airport it had left less than 10 minutes before. Investigators have recovered. the cockpit voice recorder. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News. 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.