NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-20-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: December 21, 2025

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Support for NPR, and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. The Justice Department began its release Friday of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Journalists in the public have now had more than 24 hours to go through the thousands of files. Among them is NPR's Casey Morel. Now, when it comes to the files available, a lot of them have been heavily redacted. there are pages and pages released that are just completely blacked out. But I should note, we just don't know how many files there are. What we do know is that there are many thousands

of documents to go through so far. Others are still being added, and some are really long, dozens and dozens of pages of testimony. What's in the docs that we do know, President Trump's name is there, but it's not often. There are photographs of and references to a number of other notable individuals, people like former President Bill Clinton, the late pop star Michael Jackson is there. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as well. At least 16 of the released files, meanwhile, now appear to be missing. Justice Department officials

have not yet answered questions about those files, which includes at least one photograph of a credenza with numerous photos on it, including one of President Trump. Ukraine's president is pressing for stronger air defense in cities outside Kyiv after Russian ballistic missiles struck

that country's main port city on Saturday. At least eight people were killed. NPR's Duranica Kis has our reports. Russian strikes on Odessa in Ukraine's south have also left several parts of the city without electricity or water. Speaking to reporters via voice message, Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky, said Russia is targeting Ukraine's power grid to sow chaos and put pressure on people. He said, no matter how difficult it is for us to react to these attacks, we must find a way to protect people as much as possible. Zelensky said he will hold those in charge. charge of the region's air defense accountable and ensure Odessa and other regions are better

defended. He said that Russia still aims to destroy Ukraine and that if the Kremlin cannot compromise to end the war, the U.S. must pressure it to do so. Joanna Kikisasas and PR News Kiev. Flu cases are picking up across the U.S. So far officials have confirmed three pediatric flu deaths, including one in Colorado. From Colorado Public Radio, John Daly reports. The Colorado Health Department says the child who died was in elementary school and from Metro Denver. Last year, a record-breaking 288 children died from the flu in the U.S. The CDC says most flu-related pediatric deaths happen in kids who are not fully vaccinated. In Colorado, more than 300 people are now hospitalized with flu, more than

triple the number recorded the same week last year. Here's Infectious Disease Physician Suchitra Rao of Children's Hospital, Colorado. This year has been this unprecedented season where we're seeing a lot of influenza activity. Flu season can last until May. For NPR News, I'm John Daly in Denver, Colorado. And you're listening to NPR News. A massive power outage has left some 130,000 homes and businesses in San Francisco dark tonight. No official cause has been given for the outage, but fire officials say there was a fire inside a substation.

Pope Leo is naming a pro-immigrant priest as the new head of the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach. That's where President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort is located. NPR's Jason DeRose says more. Leo is appointing Manuel de Jesus Rodriguez to lead the church in southeast Florida. He's currently a priest in Queens, New York, serving a mostly Latino congregation there. Rodriguez is himself originally from the Dominican Republic. His appointment to the diocese in which President Trump's home is located is the latest indication that Pope Leo is willing to go toe to toe with the administration's crackdown on immigration. Earlier this year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement calling out the Trump administration for mass deportations and creating a climate of fear in migrant communities throughout the U.S. According to Pew Research, more than four in ten U.S. Catholics are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Jason DeR. News. Trinidad Chablist passed for 282 yards in the touchdown and ran for two more scores as Old Miss rolled over two lanes a day, 41 to 10.

It was the first game as head coach for Pete Gold. who is promoted from defensive coordinator. Mississippi will now face number three, Georgia, in a CFP quarterfinal game. Miami and Texas A&M seem to leave their offenses at home for much of that game as the Hurricanes won 10 to 3. And in the night's final game, which is still underway, Oregon is beating James Madison 48 to 26. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.

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