NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-20-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: December 20, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. can't impose a peace deal on Ukraine or on Russia. President Trump's envoy is holding talks with the two sides in Miami today. MPIR's Michelle Kellerman has more. Secretary Rubio says the U.S. is trying to negotiate a deal that both sides can live with, but he wouldn't get into details or make any predictions about how long it will take to end what he calls a bloody, nasty conflict. He says it's costly for both sides. The entire infrastructure of Ukraine is being destroyed almost as fast as it's being rebuilt. Every week that goes by, the cost of rebuilding

that country gets exponentially higher. It is now becoming generational reconstruction. Rubio says Trump wants to end the war because it is, quote, a waste of money, time, and talent. Michelle Kellerman and PR News, the State Department. Groups that provide tax assistance for immigrants and advocate for them are asking a federal judge in Boston to stop immigration and customs enforcement from using sensitive data it's received from the IRS and the Social Security Administration. M.P.R. Jude Jaffe Block reports the Trump administration has been collecting data to aid deportation efforts. Last month, the federal judge in Washington, D.C., found it was likely unlawful

when the IRS turned over the addresses of 47,000 non-citizens to ICE in response to a request. Now, a separate lawsuit in Boston federal court seeks to stop ICE from using the data it received. It also seeks to block the IRS and Social Security Administration from sharing more. Plaintiffs argue it violates taxpayer confidentiality. Federal records show the Social Security Administration intended to share 50,000 people's records with ICE every month. The federal government has argued the data, sharing is lawful. Jude Jaffe Block, NPR News. New York's governor, Kathy Hockel, is calling for an investigation into a public school district in upstate New York where some students say they were restrained

and forced into wooden boxes. Two-thirds of the district children are Native American. MPR's Brian Mann has more. Parents at the Salmon River Central School District, which serves the Aquasasasne Mohawk community in northern New York, began raising alarm in recent days after students described being isolated in large crate-like boxes, described as calming stations. In her statement, Hockel called the reports highly disturbing and said she had concerns about the children's safety. She called on the state's independent education department to investigate. In a statement, local school district officials say they've begun their own investigation and have reassigned or placed on leave for administrators. The school board also apologized to parents

and students saying, we are truly sorry for the harm and trauma. This has resulted for our community. Brian Mann, NPR News, New York. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Comedian Bowen-Yang is quitting Saturday Night Live midway through the season. Empir's Chloe Veltman reports. He is scheduled to co-host his final show tonight with Wicked Star Ariana Grande. Bowen-Yang has not publicly shared the reason for his abrupt departure from SNL. But in a social media post on Saturday, the comedian thanked the team and expressed gratitude for every minute on his time with the show. A promo for Yang's final appearance on SNL's YouTube channel

has accrued hundreds of thousands of views. You better be watching, Olivia. You hear me, you're not going to want to miss this one. Who's Olivia? The most common name in the US if we capture the Olivia demographic will be guaranteed ratings gold. Yang has risen through Saturday Night Live's ranks since joining as a staff writer in 2018.

A year later, he was promoted to on-air talent and eventually an on-screen regular. Though uncommon, there have been a few other mid-season departures in the past, including Cecily Strong, Dana Carvey, and Eddie Murphy. Chloe Veltman, NPR News. In West Texas today, a blue origin rocket blasted off this morning, carrying six passengers for a 10-minute flight.

One of them, a paraplegic engineer from Germany, who became the first wheelchair user in space. Misha Bethenhouse was severely injured in a mountain bike accident seven years ago. The company says it wants to make space flight more accessible for a wider range of people. The German woman shared the short flight with five others, including a retired SpaceX executive who helped organize and finance her trip for an undisclosed amount. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News, in Washington.