NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-27-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: December 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. The governors of New York and New Jersey have declared states of emergency. A major snowstorm is slamming into the region. Reporter Bruce Convizer has more from New York City. The storm, sometimes referred to as an Alberta clipper, has been gaining strength as it has swept across the country. As its arrival has neared, predicted snowfall accumulations across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have been inching upward. New York City is bracing for five to nine inches. Even if just five inches falls, it would be the biggest snowstorm to fall on Central Park since 2022. The states of emergency authorized state agencies to prepare for the storm and give the respective governor's authority to make emergency declarations like reducing speed limits. The clipper storm, which has gained strength from the atmospheric river pounding the Pacific coast, is expected to clear out of the region by Saturday morning. For NPR news, I'm Bruce Conweiser in New York. Flight cancellations and delays are mounting at airports in the northeast.

The flight tracking website, Flight Aware, says more than 800 flights have been canceled so far today, and there are hundreds of delays. The rain may have eased in Los Angeles, but officials say there is still a risk of flash flooding. Three days of heavy rain led to flooding and mudslides in Southern California. The mountain town of Brightwood seems to have borne the brunt of the damage. Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to a ceasefire that could end three weeks of fighting. that have killed more than 100 people. The ceasefire has been in place for a few hours now, and Michael Sullivan report said it appears to be holding.

The ceasefire assigned by the two countries, defense ministers, says the two sides have agreed to halt their artillery attacks and rocket barrages for three days. The two countries have been involved in fierce combat for weeks that began in July, then reignited earlier this month. Hundreds of thousands on both sides have been displaced by the fighting,

whether the ceasefire holds is an open question. President Trump has said he'll take action to bring down high housing costs in 2026. But as MPR, Senator Ludden reports economists expect prices to remain out of reach for many. There are more home sellers than buyers. In fact, the gap has doubled from a year ago, according to a new analysis by Redfin. That normally brings prices down, and the real estate company does expect some sellers to keep cutting prices or offering concessions. but it notes many Americans simply cannot afford to buy a home with prices up more than 50% since 2020.

Redfin also finds the number of both buyers and sellers down from a year ago due to high cost and economic uncertainty. Unemployment has been ticking up and so have foreclosures. Economists say a severe housing shortage is a key factor keeping prices high and fixing that would take years. Jennifer Lutton in P.R. News, Washington. And you're listening to NPR News. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is due in Florida this weekend.

He is set to meet tomorrow with President Trump for further talks on ending the war with Russia, which launched another wave of missile and drone attacks that began overnight and lasted into this morning. Explosions are said to a rock key for hours. Voters in Myanmar are preparing to go to the polls. The country is to hold the first phase of a general. election tomorrow that opponents to the military government say will neither be free nor fair. The military ousted the elected government of a Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung-Sung-Soo-Chi four years ago. That coup led to a civil war that has devastated parts of the country.

A prominent scientific journal has retracted an Alzheimer's paper more than eight years after it was published. The article has been under scrutiny for years, as Imperialist John Hamilton reports. In 2017, the journal's Science Signaling published a study suggesting one specific form of the protein amyloid beta played a key role in Alzheimer's disease. The study's senior author was Sylvain-Lenay of the University of Minnesota. Teams at other institutions were unable to replicate the finding, though, and by 2021, scientists on the website PubPier were alleging that the data and the study had been manipulated. In 2022, science signaling published an expression of concern about the study. In March of 2025, Linnae resigned from his university post after an investigation raised concerns about the data in several of his studies. And this week, the journal retracted his paper.

John Hamilton, NPR News. And I'm Jail Snyder. This is NPR. 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.