NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-27-2025 3AM EST

Episode Date: December 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. It's a bad weather weekend for much of the U.S. in California, the rains have slowed down, but the rising waters haven't. I woke up at 8 a.m. with a phone call from my dad saying that the firefighters had just rescued him, and I said, from what? And he said from two feet of water in my apartment. That's Michelle Myers in Los Angeles. She says they had to go back later to rescue her dad's cats. Winter weather warnings, meanwhile, are up in the northeastern U.S. at this hour. where freezing rain, cold air, and heavy snowfall are hitting the region. New York's governor has declared an emergency in upstate counties getting as much as eight inches of snow.

But not everyone is staying inside. For member station, GBAH, Connor Uraltar reports. Surfers along the New England coast say the recent winter weather has finally delivered some decent waves. At Cinnamon Rainbow Surf Company in New Hampshire, worker Kai says the storms are a real treat. A little over a week ago, we had a nice little swell. We were able to get out, one of the storms that came through. And then this Christmas weekend, it's like a Christmas miracle. We have waves.

Kai says they weren't sure this current forecast would hold. The storm was looking a little funky, but lined up okay. And, yeah, the wind's cooperating. Like, it's clean right now. It should be for the next couple days, too. Surfers say winter storms can create some of the best conditions of the year. They just have to bundle up. For NPR News, I'm Connor Ruhalter in Boston.

The state of California has now dropped its suit against the Trump administration over the withdrawal of $4 billion in federal funding for that state's high-speed rail project. Washington says the authority running the project doesn't have a viable plan to complete it, but the authority says the federal government has shown it's not a trustworthy partner. Stock markets gained over this holiday week with the S&P 500 hitting a record high, as NPR's Rafael NOM reports, hopes. about the economy drove those gains. The economy grew at a robust annual rate of 4.3% in July, August, and September, thanks to strong

consumer demand. That was according to a delayed report by the Commerce Department. The delay means that the data is actually quite old. But at least it showed the economy was a lot better than many economists had predicted. Stocks rose as a result, with all three indexes,

posting gains of over 1% for the week. There are still areas of concern. A slowing labor market is at the top of the list. But for now, investors were relieved. Raffel Numb in PR News. Stocks, meanwhile, closed slightly lower Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 20 points. The S&P 500 fell two points and the NASDAQ was down 20 points. Golden silver prices, though, continued to rise with silver up almost 8% because of supply constraints. U.S. crude oil, meanwhile, fell 2.8% while treasury yields held steady. You're listening to NPR News.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he'll meet with President Trump at his Mar-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday. The two will discuss the ongoing talks aimed at ending Russia's war on Ukraine. Zelensky says he's ready to withdraw troops from Ukraine's Donbos region, which is a compromise on a key demand of Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the Kremlin has so far shown no sign of willingness to accept that proposal. Israel has become the first country to recognize Somaliland. That's a breakaway region of Somalia. But as M.P.R. as Michelle Kellerman reports, other countries in the region are denouncing that move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invited the leader of Somaliland to visit Israel

and says he'll seek immediate cooperation on agriculture, health, and technology. The two have also agreed to exchange ambassadors. Somalia, Egypt, and Turkey condemn the move, arguing that recognizing a breakaway, region is a threat to international peace and security. Somaliland broke away in 1991 as Somalia descended into civil war. Somaliland's leader says he will join the Abraham Accords, the normalization deals with Israel that started in the first Trump administration. Michelle Kellerman and PR News Tel Aviv. Musician Perry Bermonti has died at the age of 65. His band announced his death on its website on

Friday. Bumante began as a rowdy and guitar tech for the influential goth band Cure in 1984 before he joined as a guitarist and keyboardist in 1990. He played on many of the group's hits, including Hi, and Friday I'm in love. He left the band in 2005. I'm Dale Wilman and PR News. 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 customers. and visit wise.com. T's and Cs apply.