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

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

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Support for NPR and the following message come from the Limelson Foundation, working to harness the power of invention and innovation to accelerate climate action and improve lives around the world. Learn more at limelson.org. Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Herbst. Several lawmakers say the Trump administration is violating the Epstein Transparency Act, which required the Justice Department to release all its files related to convicted sex offender, Jeffelts, free Epstein by Friday. It released some, but not all. And Pierce Deepa Chivaram has more. Congressman Rokana, he's a Democrat who co-sponsored the legislation on the Hill to release these files. He called this release of documents on Friday incomplete at best. There were witness interviews with the FBI that he says should be released as well as a draft indictment from the first Epstein case that was also something he was looking for. And he wants an explanation from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on the timeline of when the rest of these files are

going to be made public. On the other side of the aisle, Congressman Thomas Massey, a Republican, he's been posting a lot on social media agreeing with Kana saying that not releasing all of these documents means that Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche are violating the law. And Piers-Dipa Chivaram. The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border protections have awarded five new contracts for construction of new smart walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. Texas Public Radio's Jerry Clayton has more. The new contracts totaled $3.3 billion for the so-called smart wall, which relies on electronic surveillance and data sharing to detect and respond to border crossings.

The smart walls also include secondary physical walls and water barriers in some areas. The projects include one in the Del Rio sector, three in the Laredo sector, and one in Tucson, Arizona. The Trump administration has committed a total of $8 billion towards the smart wall project, a key component of Trump's border security strategy. Democratic Senator Henry Quayar, who represents Laredo, was critical of the plans and called the Wall's 14th-century solutions to 21st-century problems. I'm Jerry Clayton in San Antonio. The country's two largest reservoirs could drop to record lows by the end of next summer.

That's according to a report from experts across the Colorado River Basin. David Condos of Member Station KUER has more. Snow season is off to a rough start in the West as climate change, fuels drought and warmer temperatures. That's bad news for the Colorado River, which depends on snow melt and provides water to tens of millions of Americans. Jack Schmidt directs the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University and worked on the report. He says even an average winter of snow could leave just one more year's worth of water in the river's biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Which means if we did it again the next year, we're done.

Then we're into the world of utter complication. This comes as seven Western states are locked in a stalemate over how to divide the shrinking river. For NPR News, I'm David Condos in St. George, Utah. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Leaders from 175 countries have adopted a U.N. declaration on non-communicable diseases and mental health. But as NPR's Gabriella Emmanuel reports, the U.S. and Argentina voted against it. This political declaration lays out a roadmap for promoting mental health and preventing and combating non-communicable diseases, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, which claim 18 million lives prematurely each year. The declaration was expected to pass almost three months ago, but Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., stood up,

and said the U.S. rejected it. The U.S. has said it hasn't agreed on the text. Alison Cox is with the NCD Alliance. What that's done is just slow the process down somewhere, but it's not stopped it. I'm very pleased to say. Cox says countries that have now adopted the declaration must take action. For example, on reducing tobacco use.

Gabriela Emmanuel and PR News. At the weekend box office, Avatar, Fire and Ash, took the top spot. with an estimated $88 million in ticket sales. With $345 million in ticket sales worldwide, it's the second best global debut of the year. It's the third film in James Cameron's science fiction franchise. In second place, David, the animated tale of David and Goliath, with $22 million.

It's the best opening weekend for Angel Studios, the Christian-oriented studio. I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe. When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and C's Apply.