NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-21-2025 3AM EST

Episode Date: December 21, 2025

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On the season finale of books we've loved, we're hanging out with four friends, looking for love in all the wrong places. We are revisiting Terry McMillan's Weeding to Exhale with Brittany Luce from It's Been a Minute. Find all episodes of books we've loved on NPR's Book of the Day podcast feed on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. victims of the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, says 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. At least 16 files relating to Epstein, meanwhile, are missing from the Justice Department's website, the 16, were part of a larger number of files released publicly on Friday. Among those now missing are photos showing paintings of nude women at a credenza with photos, including one in President Trump. The Justice Department has not yet responded to questions about whether the files were intentionally removed.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have left for the holiday break without addressing premium subsidies for health care, and Pierre Selina Simmons-Duffin has our reports. On average, premium costs are doubling in Affordable Care Act plans, Congressional Democrats have been pushing for months to extend enhanced subsidies that helped keep premiums low, but Republicans have blocked those efforts, offering alternative health bills that are not likely to become law instead. However, a bipartisan effort called a discharge petition reached the required number of signatures this week. That process can force the House to consider a bill that would extend the subsidies for three years, but it likely won't be voted on until January. Millions of enrollees are expected to become uninsured. Selina Simmons-Duffin, NPR News, Washington.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the U.S. can't impose a peace deal on Ukraine or Russia. President Trump's envoy is holding talks with the two sides in Miami this weekend to try and find a solution to the war. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. 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. And you're listening to NPR News. Eight people were killed and 27 others wounded early Saturday morning when Russian forces launched a missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Odessa. Some of those wounded were traveling on a bus. The strike was targeting the city's port. A Russian envoy, meanwhile, is heading to Florida for talks on a U.S. proposed plan to bring an end to that war. A federal environmental review has concluded that the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline can continue operating,

NPR's Jeff Brady reports the Standing Rock Sioux tribe had challenged the project. Building the Dakota Access Pipeline attracted thousands of protesters in 2016 to the construction site south of Bismarck, North Dakota. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe opposed the Missouri River section near its reservation. Leaders said an oil spill would pollute drinking water. The pipeline has operated since 2017. In 2021, a federal appeals court told the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a more thorough environmental impact statement about the problem. Now the agency says it's done that and still decided the pipeline section should be approved. After a 30-day waiting period, the Corps is expected to issue a final decision.

Jeff Brady, NPR News. Dante Moore threw four touchdowns and ran for another score Saturday night as number five Oregon beat number 19, James Madison, 51 to 34. The Ducks now advanced to face Texas Tex in a quarterfile game at the Orange Bowl on January 1st. It's the Ducks' first playoff win since 2014. Like I, Tony, meanwhile, scored with less than two minutes left as Miami slipped past Texas A&M 10 to 3. And number 6, Ole Miss rolled over Tulane, 41 to 10. They will now play number 3, Georgia. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.

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