NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-22-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: December 23, 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 in Washington, I'm Dan Roran. A federal judge has ruled that migrants who were detained in March to a Salvadoran detention center were not given due process. The judge ordered the U.S. government to facilitate their return. NPR's Jasmine Guards reports. In March of this year, migrants who were being held in a detention center in Texas were sent to Seacot, a notorious prison in El Salvador. In order to send them, the Trump administration invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used wartime power. They were accused, without evidence, of being members of Venezuelan gang Trenneragua. A federal judge has now ordered the government facilitate six of these men's ability to obtain a hearing writing, quote, our law requires no less.

He also certified the group as a class, so the case brought by the six men could represent all of those who were removed on March 15th. He gave the administration until January 5th to comply. Jasmine Garst and PR News. The Trump administration is recalling dozens of career ambassadors. It says the president wants diplomats who will advance his agenda, and that's what the Foreign Service officers signed up to do. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports.

The State Department wouldn't comment publicly on the list that have been floating around of the ambassadors being pulled back to Washington, but one official who asked not to be named described this as a, quote, standard process in any administration. The written statement says an ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and it is the president's right to ensure that he has individuals who advance the America First Agenda. Normally, about two-thirds of America's embassies overseas, are led by career diplomats. The Trump administration has nominated few career diplomats and is now pulling them back from nearly 30 embassies, many in Africa. Michelle Kellerman and PR News,

the State Department. CBS News and 60 Minutes are facing scrutiny after the network's management abruptly pulled a peace Sunday night that was reporting on the Trump administration's deportation policies and conditions at a notorious prison in El Salvador. The correspondent, on the piece, Sharon Alfonzi in an email to colleagues called the decision, not an editorial decision, but rather a political one. NPR's David Fulkenflick explains. The correspondent Sharon Alfonzi and her team interviewed Venezuelan migrants who had been sent by Trump administration to a notorious prison in El Salvador, and they were going to allege on camera that they had been badly abused, in some cases tortured, sexually assaulted by their captors there. This is, of course,

a prison that the administration had chosen for these detainees to be sent to. CBS News is defending its decision, insisting the story was not ready to wear. A short week on Wall Street, but the Dow, the S&P, and the NASDAQ all finished up. This is NPR. A federal judge in Maryland says Kilmar-Abrego-Garcia is to remain free while the judge considers the issues concerning his immigration status in the United States. Garcia is the U.S. El Salvador native who the Trump administration mistakenly deported back to his home country El Salvador only to have him freed this summer and later charged with human smuggling. The Trump administration is sought to deport him to a third country. Year after year audiences around the country enjoy winter's most cozy ballet, the Nutcracker.

As NPR's Anastasia Teolza-Cultz reports, it's the production that helps many American ballet companies stay in business. Generations of fans and aspiring dancers have grown up with visions of the sugarplum fairy dancing in their heads. Many major dance companies now depend on the Nutcracker, and even more so after the pandemic. The organization Dance USA tells NPR that between 2022 and 2024, large American dance companies reported that Nutcracker revenue has been zooming up from $57 million to $84 million. Attendance is also up by 18%.

The trick is getting Nutcracker fans to return for other performances and not to become so reliant on Nutcracker that it endangers their other works. throughout the year. It's enough to keep any dance company on its toes. Anastasi Silkus, NPR News, New York. And from Washington, this is NPR News. I'm Dan Ronan. Support for NPR. 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 Cs apply.