NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-22-2025 1AM EST

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. The Department of Justice is defending its partial release of the Epstein files. It's arguing that it is following the Epstein Transparency Act, but the sponsors of that law disagree. NPR's Luke Garrett reports. Congress passed a law requiring the DOJ release its files related to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, by this past Friday. But the partial release included heavy redactions and was mostly already public. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News,

privacy laws required redactions to protect Epstein victims. Redacting information very much trumps some deadline in the statute. But Republican Representative Thomas Massey of Kentucky told CBS News, Blanche is not protecting victims and is breaking the law. Our law trumps the prior law. That's just common sense, law school 101, yet Todd Blanche is using a different theory that wouldn't survive first contact with any court. Massey says he hopes to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress.

Luke Garrett, NPR News. Washington. The annual convention of Turning Point USA is wrapped up in Phoenix. It was the first convention since the assassination of its founder, the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Vice President J.D. Vance spoke at the meeting Sunday afternoon and promised to speed up migrant deportations throughout the country. We're building an army of patriots and we need good people who care about the country to help us secure the border and do it even faster. Rapper Nikki Minaj, meanwhile, made a surprise appearance at the event on Sunday. offering her support for President Trump. She had condemned Trump in the past. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff says peace talks in Miami over the weekend between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia have been productive.

The talks were aimed at ending Russia's almost four-year-old war in Ukraine, but as NPR's Duranica Kis reports, several barriers to a peace deal remain. Writing on social media, Ukraine's president, Volodyemir Zelensky, said talks are moving in a fairly rapid pace, and that his team is working with Trump envoys. Speaking to reporters via voice message, Zelensky talked about the most difficult issues in negotiations. He said the issue of Ukraine's territories remains the hardest, followed by the Zaporizia nuclear power plant, funding for recovery, and technical issues about security guarantees. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual press conference last week that Russia was open in negotiations, but that Russia's goals in the this war remain unchanged.

Joanna Kikisis, NPR News, Kyiv. The National Weather Service says a flash flood warning remains in effect for the southern part of Shasta County, California at this hour. Evacuations have been ordered in some areas as water continues to rise in the Yuba River. Along Colorado's front range, meanwhile, a fire warning is in effect. Hurricane force winds and tender dry conditions there have increased the threat of wildfires. This is NPR News. In the NCAA women's volleyball championship,

ninth ranked Texas A&M took advantage of its first trip to the final four and won the national title with an upset over second-ranked Kentucky. Greg Eklund has more from Kansas City. The most outstanding player was Texas A&M sophomore Kindle Stowers. She didn't play volleyball last year because of four concussions within a year but credits her teammates with helping her through the season. I hadn't been a college athlete in a long time, and so season gets long, and I hadn't been through that.

And so they were with me every single day, regardless of the highs and lows. And genuinely, I feel like the joy that I'm feeling in this moment, genuinely is just a testament to everybody around me. It was the first time in championship history that two Southeastern Conference schools met for the championship. The Aggies finished with a record of 29 and 4. For NPR News, I'm Greg Eclin, Kansas City.

The Coast Guard has ships in active pursuit of another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea. Government officials say the ship is operating under a false flag and is under a judicial seizure order. The U.S. has already seized two other ships, it says, were violating U.S. sanctions. Many legal experts, though, say the seizures violate international law. Thousands of people gathered at Stonehenge in England on Sunday to celebrate the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. They cheered and danced as the sun rose over the prehistoric stone circle. The ancient monument was built to align with the sun's movement on both the summer and winter solstice.

Many people celebrate the day as a time of renewal. 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. T's and C's apply.