NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-21-2025 1AM 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 Wilman. The U.S. Coast Guard has seized a second tanker carrying Venezuelan oil. As NPR's Quill Lawrence reports, it's an escalation of the Trump administration's pressure on President Nicholas Maduro. Secretary of Homeland Security, Christy Nome, posted video on social media of a Coast Guard helicopter landing on the tanker centuries, which she said was moving sanctioned oil. The ship does not appear on the Treasury Department's public list of sanctioned oil tankers, but the White House says it was carrying Venezuelan oil and falsely flagged as Panamanian.

President Trump declared a blockade on Venezuela's sanctioned oil, which he claimed without explanation was stolen from the U.S. A blockade is considered an act of war under international maritime law. The U.S. Navy currently has a fleet off the coast of Venezuela, and President Trump has suggested attacks inside Venezuelan territory may be imminent. Quill Lawrence NPR News. Apple and Google are telling employees on visas to not leave the U.S. during the Trump administration's ongoing immigration crackdown, NPR's Bobby Allen has the details. In internal memos reviewed by NPR that Apple and Google recently sent to employees, the message is clear. If you're on a visa and can avoid leaving the country, you should do that. And that's because of reports that some visa holders are having

renewal appointments canceled, leaving them stuck in their home countries for months. The Trump administration's recently increased vetting for visa applications includes a review of up to five years of an applicant's social media history. That has caused long delays and cancellations over what used to be routine visa appointments. Apple and Google, which together employ more than 300,000 people, both rely heavily on highly skilled foreign-born workers. The companies and the White House declined to comment. Bobby Allen and PR News. An Israeli strike in northern Gaza has killed at least six Palestinians. That's according to local health officials. And the Israeli strikes are continuing even after a ceasefire deal was brokered in October. NPR's Hadil al-Shalchi has more.

Gaza health officials say at least one child was killed in the Israeli strike on a school in the eastern neighborhood of Gaza city, Altafah. The Israeli military said it had identified some, quote, suspicious individuals west of the yellow line and that the incident was under review. Drawn during the ceasefire deal, the yellow line divides the Israeli held part of Gaza from the rest of the enclave. Across the line, Palestinians have been sheltering in schools after being displaced several times during the war. Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed over 390 Palestinians since the ceasefire deal came into effect. in October, according to local health officials.

Hadil al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. The Australian state of New South Wales is proposing a ban on the public display of Islamic state flags and other extremist symbols. The effort follows last week's mass shooting on Sydney's Bondi Beach that left 15 people dead and many others wounded. The laws will be debated on Monday and include penalties of up to two years in prison as well as fines. You're listening to NPR News. are urging people to stay home and off the roads tonight after power went out to some 130,000 homes and businesses in northern San Francisco. They also are putting additional police at some city intersections to help with traffic. In the UK, a religious leader is

bringing the Christmas message to an unexpected place by helping to create community at local pubs. Vicki Barker reports from London. 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. Malachi Tony scored on an 11-yard touchdown with less than two minutes left to play to lift Miami to a to a.m. Saturday, Mark Fletcher had a career high 172 yards rushing. Miami will now play on number two Ohio State on New Year's Eve. Trinidad Chabbales, meanwhile, ran for two scores and passed for 282 yards in a touchdown. as Old Miss routed Tulane 41 to 10, and Oregon has just beaten James Madison 51 to 34. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.

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