NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-20-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: December 20, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rom. Questions are emerging about what the Justice Department has not released. After began releasing files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein yesterday, NPR's Stephen Fowler reports. Only a small fraction of the Epstein files released Friday is information that was not made public before in court filings, open records request, or turned over to Congress by Epstein's estate. Even in the new records, many people and pages are heavily redacted. And lawmakers who push for the law to force disclosure of the documents say the DOJ is not complying with their intention by planning to release more later.

Republican Congressman Thomas Massey and Democrat Rokana are among those who argue there's missing information, including about powerful people near Epstein, also accused of crimes. Stephen Fowler, NPR News. The Justice Department says it's suing another four states for not handing over sensitive voter data to the Trump administration. There have now been 22 lawsuits filed in largely Democratic-led states. NPR's Ashley Lopez reports. These latest lawsuits have been filed against the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, and Wisconsin. So far, all the states being sued by the Trump administration are states the president lost in the 2020 election.

Justice Department officials are demanding states turn over complete, unredacted copies of their voter registration lists, which include sensitive personal information, such as driver's license numbers and parts of voter. Social Security numbers. Officials say this is an effort to, quote, protect American citizens from vote dilution. So far, only 10 states have complied or started the process of complying. Most states have refused citing privacy concerns. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. Immigration advocates are suing immigration and customs enforcement over sensitive information obtained from the IRS and the Social Security Administration. The IRS had provided ICE with the addresses of 47,000 non-citizens. The U.S. Postal Service is planning to allow businesses to make bids for some delivery services

starting next year. It's part of a new plan for stabilizing the mailing agency. NPR's Hansi Luong reports. The U.S. Postal Service has usually prioritized big businesses like Amazon when offering special shipping rates for its nationwide delivery service. But the mailing agency says in early 2026, it's start accepting bids from smaller businesses, too. The move comes after Postmaster General David Steiner warned the Postal Service's financial situation is unsustainable. USPS generally receives no tax dollars and relies instead on shipping and stamp fees to keep running. In the past fiscal year, the Postal Service had a net loss of $9 billion. USPS says it's confident allowing smaller shippers to bid for its special delivery services will help boost its revenue. But some

shipping industry experts say the move could push bigger shippers to stop relying on USPS, and that could further destabilize the agency. On Zila Wong, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News in Washington. The U.S. continues its efforts to find a way to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Russian negotiators are expected in Florida today to meet with special envoy Steve Whitkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Students at Brown University aren't due back to school until January. After a deadly shooting one week ago, two people were killed. The suspect was found dead in New Hampshire this week. Police identified him as a 48-year-old

former graduate student at Brown. Ocean State Media's Isabella Jabillon reports from Providence. Feelings were mixed on the Brown University campus. Some felt relief. Others questioned what had motivated the shooting. Graduate student Yenek-Atundi visited a memorial outside the Barrison-Hawley building

where the shooting took place for the first time since the tragedy. He wondered about Brown's future. It's still enerving and still very frightening and terrifying, but at the same time, I think it's slowly coming to the realization that this happened and

just thinking about what does yeah, what does our day-to-day look like after this. Brown University has canceled most classes in exams. Students aren't due back until January. For NPR News, I'm Isabella Jabilian in Providence. A high-speed

train struck an elephant herd in India early this morning. Officials say seven elephants were killed and a calf was injured. They say the driver saw the herd and applied the emergency brakes, but was unable to stop in time. India has one of the highest concentrations of wild elephants in the world. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington.