NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-23-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Roran. Two members of Congress, a Democrat and a Republican, are threatening to use a rarely used congressional procedure because of what they say is the slow, much-redacted release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Democrat Roe Kana and Republican Thomas Massey said this could include fining and arresting Justice Department officials, including the Attorney General Pam Bondi. Meanwhile, Epstein survivors are speaking out. Marinda Lassarda spoke with ABC News. We have been through so much at this point, and we are just tired and tired of asking for just one simple thing. The Justice Department says it's reviewing the files to make sure victims are protected. Kilmar Obrego Garcia, the Maryland man, who was deported to El Salvador by mistake,

may continue to stay out of detention while his court cases play out. NPR's Himana Bouchura has more. Judge Paula Zines in Maryland extended a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Homeland Security Department from placing Abrago Garcia in immigration detention. She gave the government attorneys until later this week to explain what they do should she lift that order. Zinis 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. Obrigo Garcia denies those allegations and is fighting this and his immigration case across several courts. Jimenez-Bustillo, and Pierre News, Washington. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed a new ambassador to Washington.

Dan Carpenchuk reports Mark Wiseman takes over the duties in mid-February. The 55-year-old Weissman will also lead Ottawa's negotiations with the U.S. on the review of the North American Free Trade Agreement, known as U.S.MCA. Weissman is a global investment banker and a pension fund manager and a long-time friend of Carnies. He's a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Canada-U-S relations, which was formed to review the current trade agreement. He was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, holds a joint master of business administration and law degree from the University of Toronto, and has worked on mergers and acquisitions in New York City and Paris. Weissman replaces Kirsten Hillman, who announced earlier this month,

that she would end her Washington posting. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpenter. And Chuck in Toronto. Could it be magical? Come on. Come, oh, come. Legendary entertainer Barry Manilow says he has early-stage lung cancer and will undergo surgery to remove a cancerous spot on his lung.

He will reschedule his January concerts as a result of the surgery. Manelow said he recently had been battling bruncitis and doctors found the cancerous growth. They say it can be treated with surgery. You're listening to NPR news. At least five people reportedly were killed Monday when a small Mexican plane on a medical mission crashed and burned in the water near Galveston, Texas. It was en route to the city's international airport. One of those who died reportedly as a two-year-old child, Mexico's Navy said eight people were on board the plane. They were transporting berm victims for treatment.

Many state-run psychiatric hospitals have largely lost the ability to treat patients. Unless they're charged with a crime. Sarah Jane Tribble, with our partner KFF, Health News, has more from Ohio. More than 90% of the patients at Ohio State Psychiatric Hospitals have been charged with a crime. Two decades ago, about half of the patients were criminally charged. Ohio retired Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg-Straten has seen people with unmet mental health needs cycle through the courts for years. It hurts everybody who has someone who needs to get a hospital bed that's not in the criminal justice. system. Patients charged with crimes tend to stay longer in state hospitals, so fewer patients are being

served today than 10 years ago. Ohio's Department of Behavioral Health has tried to address the problem, including by expanding mental health treatment in jails. That is Sarah Jane Tribble with our partners at KFF Health News. The chief of police at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, has now been put on administrative leave. This is campus officials review security procedures following last week's mass shooting that left two people dead. The former police chief for the city of Providence has been named the acting chief of police while the investigation takes place. From Washington, this is NPR News. I'm Dan Ronan. 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

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