NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-19-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

NPR News: 12-19-2025 6PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This week on the NPR Politics Podcast, 70% of Americans say they live somewhere that isn't affordable for average families. That's up from just 45% over the summer. But with Trump, he has unilaterally pushed a lever that makes prices go up. The shifting politics of tariffs and affordability for President Trump on the NPR Politics Podcast. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. The Justice Department has started its release of files related to the life and death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. NPR's Stephen Fowler reports. 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. The U.S. has launched strikes on Islamic State weapons caches and infrastructure in Syria, according to an official who is not authorized to speak publicly. Jordan is also taking part in the attack. President Trump said this would happen after the death of two Iowa National Guard soldiers in a U.S. translator a week ago in a terrorist

attack in central Syria. On social media, defense secretary Pete Hegseth, said, quote, this is not the beginning of a war. It is a declaration of vengeance. President Trump is set to speak in Rocky Mount North Carolina tonight. He's working to overcome voters' gloomy views of the U.S. economy from the North Carolina newsroom, Adam Wagner, reports. Rocky Mount is the largest city in North Carolina's newly redrawn first congressional district. There will be a five-way Republican primary there, with the party seeking to defeat two-term Democrat Don Davis. Even as the state's Republican-controlled legislature, redrew the district to give the GOP an advantage.

Jonathan Sutton owns a barbershop near the venue where Trump will speak. Sutton, a Democrat, says he's noticed a decidedly negative sentiment among friends and clients. Just dealing with people, people kind of just saying don't know what's going on, not sure of their future. An NPR PBS Marist poll found that only 36% of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy. For NPR News, I'm Adam Wagner in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the flu, COVID-19, and RSV are all on the rise again, but the flu is hitting hardest, and PR's Rob Stein has the story. New York, Louisiana, and Colorado are already getting slammed by the flu, and flu activity is increasing throughout the country. Some experts worry the U.S. may be in for another bad flu season.

Part of the reason is that the dominant flu strain recently mutated. The mutated virus doesn't appear to make people sicker. but it does appear to spread more easily. That means more people could get sick and get seriously ill. So the CDC is urging anyone who hasn't gotten their flu shot to get one as soon as possible, especially with the holidays coming up. Rob Stein, NPR News.

Stocks on Wall Street rose today. The SMP 500 rose 8 tenths of a percent. This is NPR News from Washington. Ford is recalling more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles because of a parking function problem that could lead to them rolling away. The recall includes F-150 lightnings, Mustang, mock-ease, and Mavericks. Ford says that it will update the vehicles for free. President Trump's name has been added to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

NPR's Mondalit Del Barco reports signage has already been added to the building following yesterday's vote by its board of trustees. The new board appointed by the president unanimously approved the new name the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. The logo on its website and social media accounts have already been changed and new signage installed on the building. On X, the center posted that Trump had, quote, saved this historic building and created a truly bipartisan place to celebrate the arts. Kennedy's family members and Democratic leaders say renaming the National Living Memorial Center is illegal, pointing out that by federal law, only Congress can make any changes.

In his second term, Trump installed himself as chairman of the center and changed its programming, saying the center is, quote, not going to be woke. Since then, many artists have canceled performances in protest. Mandalay-Al-Barco, NPR News. For a long time, scientists could only make guesses about when wild animals were sleeping, but tiny trackers and helmets that measure brainwaves have allowed researchers to glimpse the sometimes spectacular ways that wild animals snooze. Chin-strap penguins sleep for seconds at a time to guard newborns, frigate birds that soar for weeks at a time sleep while flying. I'm Rylan Barton. This is NPR News from Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR NewsNow Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.