NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-25-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: December 25, 2025

NPR News: 12-25-2025 3PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dwa'li Saikoutal. It was a rainy Christmas Day at the Vatican, where Pope Leo the 14th, the first American pontiff used his Christmas Day blessing to urge more than 1.4 billion Catholic followers to act with humility and responsibility. He highlighted conflicts in Sudan, in Yemen, in Gaza, and he told his faithful, if he would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and oppress,

then the world would change. Indeed, God, who created us without us, will not save us without us. That is, without our free will to love. As rain drizzled outside St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope asked the crowd to not turn away from the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind, and cold. And later, Leo spoke of Ukraine of how a ceasefire remains out of reach. In Turkey, authorities have detained more than a hundred suspected members of the Islamic State group. The individuals are said to have been planning attacks on Christmas and New Year's celebrations.

The BBC's Sebastian Usher has the latest information released by the Chinese. chief prosecutor's office. They haven't given much of a breakdown of this operation, but it certainly was an extensive one in Istanbul, saying that police attained information about these alleged planned attacks throughout the holiday season, saying that they were specifically going to be targeting non-Muslims and that more than 100 raids were carried out in various locations in Istanbul. And there was a list of more than 130 IS suspects and saying that they detained almost all of those. The BBC Sebastian Usher reporting. An NPR analysis of immigration court records showed an increase in people being ordered, deported, because they did not show up to their appointments.

As NPR's Hemena Bostia reports, fear of arrest and logistical challenges cause these no-shows. Earlier this year, immigration and customs enforcement officers began making arrests in immigration court. That coincided with an increase in what is called a removal order in absentia. If someone is told to go to immigration court, they have to show up. Otherwise, the government may have the right to order them removed. Immigration lawyers, though, say that there are several reasons why someone may not show up. It's possible that the notices were sent to the wrong address. There could be mail delays or the person may have even left the country already.

Still, advocates say most immigrants are showing up to court and hope to get their chance to argue why they should stay. Hemanabustillo, NPR News, Washington. North Korea is making progress toward having a nuclear power. submarine. This is NPR News from New York. A good number of people got lucky last night winning some cash prizes and Powerball, the lot of gain that's been played since 1992 in 45 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. But one ticket holder in Arkansas has won the jackpot, $1.8 billion. That person, or perhaps group of people who purchased the ticket together, can cash

it all out for almost $835 million. The Iowa Lottery CEO and Powerball Group Chair Matt Strawn says this is truly an extraordinary life-changing prize. Taiwan is monitoring Chinese coast guard ships sailing in restricted waters next to some of its islands. Such Chinese patrols are increasingly common around Taiwan, and according to a new Pentagon report, part of China's effort to erode Taiwan's control of its own waters, NPR's Emily Feng reports. China says its Coast Guard ships are near the Taiwanese Kinmen Islands as part of a routine patrol.

Taiwan's Coast Guard dispatched three ships to monitor the Chinese group and said sailing in bad weather was, quote, unprofessional and irrational. The Pentagon says China has increasingly used its coast guard in various Taiwan-the-military exercises and patrols around Taiwan's Kinman Islands, which are very close to China's eastern shore. The annual Pentagon report on China, which came out this week, noted that China's overall military has made steady progress towards its goal to be capable of what Beijing calls a strategic decisive victory over Taiwan. A Democratic Island, China hopes to one day control. Emily Fang, NPR News. This is NPR.