NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-22-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. The annual convention of Turning Point USA wrapped up in Phoenix on Sunday. 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 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. The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border protections, meanwhile, have awarded five contracts for construction of new smart walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. Texas Public Radio's Jerry Clayton has more. The new contracts total $3.3 billion for the so-called smart wall, which relies on electronic surveillance and data sharing, to detect and respond to border crossings.

The smart walls also include secondary physical walls and water barriers in some areas. The projects include one in the Del Rio sector, three in the Laredo sector, and one in Tucson, Arizona. The Trump administration has committed a total of $8 billion towards the smart wall project, a key component of Trump's border security strategy. Democratic Senator Henry Quayar, who represents Laredo, was critical of the plans and called the Wall's 14th century solutions to 21st century problems. I'm Jerry Clayton in San Antonio. The U.S. says it's pursuing another tanker in the Caribbean. Officials say the vessel is trying to evade sanctions for transporting Venezuelan oil.

It's part of the Trump administration's ongoing campaign against the government of President Nicolas Maduro. NPR's Kerry Kahn has more on that story. A U.S. official tells NPR that the U.S. Coast Guard, quote, is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion. The official was not authorized to speak publicly, but did add that the tanker is. quote, flying a false flag and is under a judicial seizure order. The Pentagon and the U.S. Coast Guard referred all inquiries to the White House, which has yet to comment. President Trump said last week that he was ordering a total blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers coming and going from Venezuela. On Saturday, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Nome said the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded an oil tanker,

which a White House official later said was flying a false Panamanian flag. on NPR News, Rio de Janeiro. Shares surged higher across Asia on Monday after a rebound in artificial intelligence-related stocks, including NVIDIA, sparked a rally on Wall Street last Friday to finish the week on a high Friday. Tokyo's Niki 25 gained almost 2% in Monday trading. Hong Kong's Hangseng, meanwhile, was up 1 tenth of a percent, while South Korea's COPSY climbed 2.1%. U.S. futures and oil prices also rose, while the U.S. dollar remained about

on 157 Japanese yen. This is NPR News. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning Sunday for the southern part of Shasta County, California. That order has ended, but evacuations were 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.

Officials in Michigan recently confirmed two Cougar Cubs there, have survived into adolescence, as Breonna Edgar of member station WCMU reports. These are the first Cubs spotted east of the Mississippi River in more than a century. The existence of the Cubs was documented in March in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Until now, they remained evasive, leading local officials to believe they hadn't survived. But earlier this month, they appeared on a trail cam. Brian Rohl, with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, says the Cubs survival is, quote, historic. Because of the proximity to where the kittens were in March, we're seeing two

animals now that we are comfortable agreeing that this is probably the same animals. Cougars are on Michigan's endangered species list, with fewer than 200 adult sightings in the last decade. For NPR news, I'm Brianna Edgar in Mount Pleasant Michigan. A Russian general was killed Monday after an explosive device detonated under his car. Investigators say Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvonov died from his injuries. He headed operational training directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff. Investigators say they're exploring several leads, including the possibility that Ukraine was involved. 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 Cs apply.