NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-24-2025 11AM EST

Episode Date: December 24, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says he's open to pulling back troops from a part of eastern Ukraine still under Ukrainian control as part of a potential peace deal. NPR's Joanna Kikisis report, Zelensky says he expects the White House to present the latest draft of its peace proposal to the Kremlin later today. Zelensky revealed the details of the latest peace plan to reporters in key. during a briefing. He said Ukraine was against withdrawing troops from the eastern Ukrainian area known as Donbass, but that U.S. negotiators are pushing for demilitarization so it can become a free economic zone. Zelensky says he might agree if Russia also pulls back its troops in the region. The latest peace plan includes NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine and stationing international

forces on the front line. Zelensky said the U.S. and Ukraine have not agreed on who should control Ukraine's Zaporizia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces. Joanna Kekisas, NPR News, Kyiv. Crowds are gathering in Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas for the first time since the war in Gaza began. NPR's Hadeal al-Shaalchi reports the mood there today is hopeful and bittersweet. It's been two years since the city where Christians believe Jesus was born held its traditional Christmas Scouts parade. Young men and women

playing the bagpipes and drums march through the city. Hundreds of people summon their Sunday best crammed into manger square to watch, the massive Bethlehem Christmas tree towering over them. Asir Jajajah said that the celebrations came at a necessary time.

People need to release some of the pressure they felt, she said. That pressure was from worry over what's happening to Palestinians during the war in Gaza. Those in Bethlehem Today said they will dare to allow themselves some hope this Christmas. Hadil Al-Shalchi and PR News, Bethlehem. Crime rates appear to have fallen nationwide this year based on early data from 2025.

NPR's Meg Anderson has more on what the numbers show. I look primarily at this database called the Real-Time Crime Index. It's from this firm AH Datalytics. They use data from nearly 600 jurisdictions around the country. Crime is down by a lot. much every category according to them. So murders are down by around 20% this year. Violent crime in general, things like rape, robbery, aggravated assault are also down. And property crimes are down, too, including burglaries and motor vehicle theft. And these crime declines happen

pretty much everywhere, right? The Midwest, the South, the Northeast, the West. One analyst told me it's the most promising drop he's seen in nearly 30 years. That's NPR's Meg Anderson reporting. This is NPR News. in Washington. Dozens of temperature records could be broken during a late December heat wave. Forecasters say temperatures on Christmas Day are expected to reach the 70s across parts of the south and southeast, with highs climbing into the 80s in parts of Texas. Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to stay closer to average across the northeast.

Weather officials say the unusual warmth is being driven by a high-pressure system pushing warm air from the Gulf into the southern U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is paying for new research on the Hepatitis B vaccination. NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports many scientists are calling the proposed study unethical. More than 400 studies suggest that vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B is safe and effective, but the CDC is funding a controversial team of Danish scientists to do more. The group's been praised for the vaccine research by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., but many scientists have questioned their research practices.

The study isn't designed to test whether the vaccine works. Instead, it will look for potential side effects in babies born in Guinea-Bissau, a country that doesn't currently vaccinate at birth. The researchers will vaccinate some newborns and withhold the newborn dose for others, then follow both groups for several years. Some experts criticize the withholding of a well-studied, life-saving vaccine in a country where nearly one in five people are infected with Hep B. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. Stocks are trading higher on Wall Street at this hour. The Dow is up 193 points than NASDAGUB 7. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News.