NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-23-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

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What's the best Christmas gift you've ever received? Was it the laughter of your children, the love of a good friend, a smile on your partner's face? Yeah, well, we're not talking about any of that nonsense. We're talking about actual tangible Christmas presents, that one toy you found waiting for you under the tree and still think about from time to time. Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Roman. A federal judge in New York is criticizing convicted sex trafficker. and Jeffrey Epstein's longtime girlfriend, Jeline Maxwell, after Maxwell's recent court filing contained confidential victims' names, as she seeks to set aside her 2021 conviction and possibly be released. Maxwell filed the paperwork on her own without a lawyer. The document is being kept under seal and out of the public's views until the judge reviews it and redacts the names of the victims. In Florida, President Trump was asked about the release of the latest Epstein files and photographs. But no, I don't like the pictures of Bill Clinton being shown. I don't like the

pictures of other people being shown. I think it's a terrible thing. I think Bill Lynn's a big boy. He can handle it. But you probably have pictures being exposed of other people that innocently met Jeffrey Epstein years ago, many years ago, and they're, you know, highly respected bankers and lawyers and others. Meanwhile, the Senate's top Democrat Chuck Schumer is urging colleagues to take action against the Justice Department over the law enforcement agencies heavily redacted an incremental release of the files on both Epstein and Maxwell. Kilmar Obrego Garcia, the man deported to El Salvador by mistake, may continue to stay out of detention while his cases play out in various courts.

NPR's Jimenez-Bustillo reports. Judge Palazzini's in Maryland extended a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Homeland Security Department from placing Abrigo Garcia in immigration detention. She gave the government attorneys until later this week to explain what they'd do should she lift that order. Zini's issued the protection order earlier this month and also granted Abrago Garcia's petition to be released from custody. Abrago Garcia, who entered the U.S. illegally, had been living in Maryland but was deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador by mistake. The government eventually brought him back to the U.S. and charged him with human smuggling. Abrego Garcia denies those allegations and is fighting this and his immigration case across several courts.

Jimenez-Bustillo, NPR News, Washington. China is criticizing the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan ship saying it is a violation of international law. NPR's Emily Fang reports. The U.S. seized a second oil tanker just over the weekend, and Reuters citing documents reports the ship and its oil had been bound for China. China opposes all, quote, unilateral and illegal sanctions, China's foreign ministry said. It also said Venezuela has, quote, the right to develop relations with other countries. Venezuela has slammed the U.S. seizures as outright piracy. China buys about 80% of Venezuela's oil now.

Some of it shipped on unregistered boats to evade U.S. sanctions. But for China, that's just a figurative drop in the bucket. About 4% of its total crude oil imports come from Venezuela. Emily Fang, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. The nation's oldest active park ranger, Betty Reed-Susk and has died, Long before she began working at the World War II home, the front National Historical Park in her 80s, she worked for an all-black boilermakers union in California.

Later, she got involved with the civil rights movement. Here she tells NPR about how her outlook evolved. I don't any longer expect the world to be as cohesive as I once did. I think now that every generation has to recreate. democracy because it will never stay fixed, that one of our rights is to be wrong and that that's a protected right. One of our rights is to be a bigot. One of our rights is to recognize that the only thing that corrects a bad idea is a good idea. Betty Reid-Suskin died at her home in Richmond, California. She was 104 years old. Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky says the

recent U.S. proposals for a peace deal between Ukraine and Moscow meet many of his country's demands. Zelensky acknowledged that both Moscow and Kiev are unlikely to get everything they're seeking in the negotiations which have been ongoing in Miami. President Trump said the talks are going in his words, OK. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Ukrainian forces have recently struck deep inside of Russia hitting key energy and military targets. Russia is also targeting Ukraine's energy sector attempting to disrupt the country during winter. I'm Dan Rohn and NPR News. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe.

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