NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-20-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: December 20, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. Some members of Congress are criticizing the Department of Justice for only a partial release of the Jeffrey Epstein files on Friday. A law had required a complete release. Democratic Congresswoman Teresa Lager Fernandez of New Mexico says it's important to have those documents released. We should not live in America, repudafiles, sex traffickers, and those who would demean women and use them as sexual objects can go. without accountability. Fernandez calls the partial release of the files, shameful. U.S. Representative Elise Stefano is dropped out of the race for New York governor.

In a social media post, she said it was not an effective use of her time to spend much of next year in a Republican primary. Stefanik is a top Republican in Congress. She was being challenged in the governor's race by Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. Secretary of Homeland Security, Christy Noam, is suspending the green card. Lottery Program. She says the program allowed the suspect in the Brown University and MIT shootings to come to the U.S. NPR's Jasmine Garst reports. The Green Card Lottery Program is intended to admit individuals from countries that have a low enough level of immigration to the U.S.

Suspected shooter Claudio Nevis Valenti was a Portuguese national who initially entered the U.S. on a student visa in 2000 and became a permanent resident in 2017. Nearly 20 million people applied for the 2025 visa lottery, and more than 130,000 were selected, including spouses of the winners. In November, an Afghan man was identified as the suspected gunmen in a fatal attack on National Guard members, which prompted the Trump administration to impose rules against immigration from Afghanistan and other countries. Jasmine Garst, NPR News. President Trump's name has been added to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., NPR's Mandolite Del Barco reports that the change was made following a vote by Trump's handpicked board of trustees and without the approval of Congress.

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 policy. 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 de Barco, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News.

The U.S. military launched at least 70 strikes in Syria Friday. They targeted Islamic State fighters, as well as some of the group's weapons caches. The attacks follow an ambush almost a week ago in Syria that killed two American troops along with a civilian interpreter. President Trump had vowed a response after the ambush occurred. Administration officials say more strikes are expected. Eight Republican attorneys general have issued a rebuke of President Trump's executive order to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. From member station WFIU, Ethan Sandwise, says more. As a Schedule 3 drug, marijuana would still be a controlled substance, but with recognized medical use. Attorneys general of Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Wyoming wrote in a statement that the science surrounding marijuana shows it, cannot be used safely. Ken Mackie is a professor of neuroscience at Indiana University. He says marijuana is an effective treatment for chronic pain, and its potential for abuse is lower than other drugs, such as tobacco. It's not saying that it's harmless, is putting a more realistic measure of the risk.

Trump's order does not immediately reschedule marijuana, but directs the U.S. Attorney General to expedite that process. For NPR News, I'm Ethan Sandwise. Ty Simpson passed for 232 yards and two touchdowns as number nine-seat Alabama rally to beat number eight Oklahoma Friday night, 34 to 24. Alabama overcame a 17-point deficit for the win. The game was Alabama's first playoff appearance under new coach Kalin DeBoer. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe.

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