NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-23-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

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Six, seven, like the numbers six and seven, is a kids meme that parents are trying to make sense of. My dad is trying to understand what six, seven is. I kind of feel bad for the parents. But is there more that kids, parents, and the rest of us should know about these two numbers? To find out, listen to the It's Been a Minute podcast on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Doa Lysa Kautau. The Justice Department has released another batch of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. These contain hundreds of references to President Trump.

The DOJ says the nearly 30,000 documents contain, quote, untrue or sensationalist claims about Trump. More on this from NPR's Luke Garrett. In a 2020 email, an unidentified federal prosecutor said flight logs show Trump had flown on Epstein's private jet, quote, many more times than previously reported between 1993 and 1996. Another file shows a 2021 subpoena to Mara Lago for employment records during the investigation into Galane Maxwell, Epstein's co-conspirator and a convicted sex offender. Other documents include a 2019 letter supposedly sent by Epstein to convicted sex offender, Larry Nasser, the U.S. gymnastics team doctor. The letter mentions, quote, our president, though it's unclear whether the DOJ verified, whether this was in fact written by Epstein. These documents continue a piecemeal release by the DOJ, despite Congress requiring them to make all the files public last Friday. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.

A jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries to pay $1.5 billion to a Baltimore woman after finding the company liable for exposing her to asbestos through baby powder. WIPR Scott Masione reports it's the largest win for a single person in a talk-related case. The Baltimore Circuit Court jury found that the company knew that its baby powder products caused mesothelioma, an incurable form of cancer. Jessica Dean, an attorney on the case, says Johnson and Johnson consistently lied about the safety of the product. The willingness to sacrifice future people's health protect their pocketbook when they have unreal resources is gross. The company says it will appeal the $1.5 billion verdict.

About 67,000 people are suing Johnson and Johnson over cancer diagnoses. The company moved from talc to cornstarch-based baby powder in the U.S. in 2020. For NPR news, I'm Scott Mossioni in Baltimore. For holiday travelers in the Los Angeles area, a Christmas storm could dump up to 10 inches of rain, causing potential mudslides and widespread flooding. Hilda Solis is chair of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. If you haven't picked up your emergency supplies or sandbags yet, please do so today, if you can, before the heavy rain begins. At the same briefing, L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna added this. We're nearing the end of 2025, and 2025 didn't start off that great for L.A. County with the fires, and we're ending it with floods.

The National Weather Service warns of dangerous conditions with high winds, severe thunderstorms locally, and even a small chance of tornadoes along the northern coast. You are listening to NPR News from New York City. Former Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska says he has advanced pancreatic cancer. Sass was among the few Republican senators to openly criticize President Trump during his first term in the White House. And Pierre Sam Greenglass reports. SAS says he learned the diagnosis last week and that it's terminal. Elected to the Senate as a first-time political candidate in 2014, he won a second term in 2020. After the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, Sass was one of seven Republican senators

who voted to convict Trump of incitement of insurrection. Sass resigned halfway through his term to assume the presidency of the University of Florida. He left that job in 2024 after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy. This week, Sass wrote on social media that he has a lot less time than he'd prefer. And that, quote, this is hard for someone wired to work and build, but harder still as a husband and a dad. Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington. Parts of regions in Ukraine were left completely without power early today after another record drone and missile attack by Russia.

Meanwhile, the Kiev Independent reports Ukrainian forces for the first time destroyed a Russian submarine using an underwater drone earlier this month. A video on the news outlets' website appears to show the destruction of the submarine. In related news, Reuters reports Pope Leo plans to appeal to Russia to respect at least Christmas Day as a day of peace. Pope Leo told reporters he feels much sadness that Russia has refused a ceasefire request. This is NPR News from New York.