NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-21-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: December 21, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jail Snyder. Ukraine's president says he wants wider consultations with European allies as the Trump administration holds talks with Ukrainian and Russian teams in Florida. NPR's Joanna Kikisis reports that several barriers to a peace deal remain. Writing on social media, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said talks are moving in a fairly rapid pace and that his team is working with Trump envoys. He said Norway's prime minister told him by phone that his country would help put pressure on Russia to end the war. Speaking to reporters via voice message, Zelensky talked about the most difficult issues in negotiations.

He said the issue of Ukraine's territories remains the hardest, followed by the Zaporizia nuclear power plant, funding for recovery, and technical issues about security guarantees. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual press conference last week that, Russia was opened in negotiations, but that Russia's goals in this war remain unchanged. Joanna Kikisis, NPR News, Kyiv. The U.S. interception this weekend of a second oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela comes just days after President Trump announced a blockade of all sanctioned tankers entering and leaving the country, but one company not subject to the blockade, and that's the U.S. oil giant Chevron. Clayton Siegel is a senior fellow at the Center for a Strategic

and international studies. Chevron is, I think, the largest single producer of oil and gas in Venezuela at this time. They apparently have what we call a specific license from the Department of Treasury to continue operations there, whereas a lot of other companies don't have that privilege. There used to be a general license that enabled a lot of companies to operate there. Those were revoked by the Trump administration during summertime. Chevron still exporting Venezuelan oil amid a large military buildup in the region under the Trump administration. Australians are remembering the victims of the attack on Sydney's Bondi Beach. Thousands gathered on the beach today,

marking one week since two gunmen targeted a Jewish festival. Fifteen people were killed. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a review of national law enforcement and intelligence agencies, as Christina Cucullia reports. The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the review will examine if federal police and intelligence agencies have the right powers, structures, processes, and sharing arrangements in place to keep

Australians safe. That's after Australia's Domestic Intelligence Agency revealed it had investigated the surviving suspect, 24-year-old Navid Akram, in 2019, and deemed him not to be a threat. The review is due to be completed in April and the findings released to the public. The Domestic Intelligence Agency says it will cooperate fully with the process. You're listening to NPR News. There are questions this weekend about the Justice Department's release of documents in the Jeffrey Epstein case. More than a dozen of the files released on Friday no longer available, including a photograph showing President Trump. DOJ said in a social media post late last night that photos and other material will continue being reviewed and redacted consistent with the law that requires a release.

In the U.K., a British religious leader is briefed. Bringing the Christmas message to local pubs, Vicki Barker reports from London. On the fifth day of Christmas, what you're not said to me. It's called Carol's Till Closing. Footage posted on YouTube shows Father Richard Watson, glittering gold lamay jacket over his clerical collar, leading pub customers through a shambolic but spirited rendering of 12 days of Christmas, with the pianist occasionally incorporating the theme music from popular TV shows.

The Anglican vicar has been filling pubs in St. Albans north of London with his boisterous holiday services. Watson says priests and publicans do similar jobs, creating a space where everyone's welcome and accepted, regardless of their station in life. For NPR News, I'm Vicky Barker in London. Last night's Christmas episode of Saturday Night Live was comedian Bowen Yang's final as a main cast member. Yang signed off last night. at mid-season following a show hosted by Ariana Grande, with whom he appeared in the movie version of the popular Broadway musical Wicked. Yang joined the show as a writer and became a fan favorite. I'm Jail Snyder, NPR News.