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

Episode Date: December 21, 2025

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As you prepare for the ball drop on 2025, listen to NPR Music's All Songs Considered podcast as we look back at the biggest songs and albums of the year. From the unmissable hits to the fascinating other stuff you might not have heard. Search for All Songs Considered wherever you get podcasts to hear us run back some of the best of the best of 2025. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein say they're disappointed after the partial release of thousands of heavily redacted files relating to the case. One of Epstein's victims, Marina Lacerda, was abused as a 14-year-old. She told the BBC that she believes powerful men are still being protected. We waited for this day.

We waited for this moment. And we are a little bit disappointed that they're now still lingering on and, you know, distracting us with other things. some of the survivors are, you know, still nervous and skeptical about how they are going to release the rest of the files. We are very worried that it will still be redacted in the same way. The Justice Department faced a Friday deadline under legislation that required the release of those documents. As the Trump administration continues to increase its immigration detention program, officials are scrambling to find additional space to hold the more than 65,000 people already in custody. As NPR's Meg Anderson reports, immigration officials are now trying to fill that void by reopening former prisons and detention centers.

NPR identified shuttered facilities that have reopened as ICE detention centers in at least a dozen states since January. Most are former state or federal prisons owned by private companies, and many had faced allegations of poor conditions while they were open. They're coming back online at a time when the government has pulled back from some detention center oversight responsibilities. Eunice Cho is Senior Counsel at the ACLU's National Prison Project. What we are seeing is the clear degradation of accountability measures over conditions of confinement in detention facilities. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told NPR, all detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and family. Meg Anderson, NPR News. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is urging all countries with influence,

in the African nation of Sudan to push for humanitarian truce for the new year. MPR's Michelle Kellerman reports that Sudan is widely considered to be one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet today. Sudan came up a couple of times in Rubio's wide-ranging end-of-year news conference. The Secretary of States, as U.S. envoys have been talking to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and others to try to get them to use their leverage with the warring parties to halt the fighting between a paramilitary known as the RSF and Sudan's armed forces. What we said to everybody on it is that what's happening there is horrifying.

It's atrocious. That one day the story of what's actually happened there is going to be known and everyone involved is going to look bad. More than 12 million people have been uprooted by the conflict and humanitarian workers are reporting widespread atrocities against civilians. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. And you're listening to NPR News. News. Sunday was declared a national day of reflection in Australia, and flags were flying

at Haastaff there. Candles were lit on Bondi Beach to remember the victims of a mass shooting one week ago during a Jewish celebration. Fifteen people were killed in that mass shooting. It was the largest such shooting in that country in 29 years. This time of year, we see Santa Claus everywhere. Now many families are specifically attending events with Santas that look like them. Leslie Eiler Thompson reports from Nashville. Shedric Webster is the Nashville area's premier Black Santa. He's also one of the first members of a new professional organization called the Santas of Color Coalition, which supports a movement of Santas that represents all races. There's a difference in our beard care. There's a difference in how we walk and how we talk.

Webster says the coalition's membership is growing, and their work is resonating with parents, like Alyssa Duturo. Knowing that Santa looks like you would comment. to your neighborhood or spend time with your family, you see yourself more in Christmas, right? One of my friends has Asian Santas, and I love that. Many members of the Santas of color will travel across the country this month, just to be Santa Claus. For NPR News, I'm Leslie Eiler Thompson in Nashville. Engineer Michaela Benthouse has become the first wheelchair user to travel into space. She rocketed away from West Texas Saturday on board a SpaceX blue origin ship.

The German woman shared the 10-minute flight with five other people. She was severely injured seven years ago in a mountain bike accident. She says she wanted to float in space while looking down on Earth. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News. 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. Tease and Cs apply.

Thank you.