NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-27-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2025

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This message comes from Subaru, celebrating the Subaru Share the Love event now through January 2nd. By year's end, Subaru and its retailers will have donated more than $350 million to charity. Subaru, more than a car company. Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Herbst. Russia launched a missile and drone attack against Ukraine's capital overnight, leaving at least two people dead, dozens injured. This is Ukrainian President Zelensky is set to meet president. President Trump tomorrow in Florida on Russia's war in Ukraine. On the way Zelensky stopped in Canada, meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney,

who announced more financial aid for Ukraine. Dan Carpenchuk has more. Carney said the additional economic aid will help Ukraine unlock financing from the International Monetary Fund. Carney also said under Zelensky's leadership, there is the possibility of a just and lasting peace. He also reaffirmed Canada's commitment to Ukraine and the need to maintain pressure on Moscow to negotiate. The Halifax stopover comes after the two leaders spoke by phone on Friday. The Ukrainian leader also said he updated Carney on the status of diplomatic efforts with the U.S. to bring the war with Russia to an end.

Zelensky is set to meet with President Trump on Sunday to talk about a 20-point peace plan which will include security guarantees and an economic agreement. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpenchuk in Toronto. More people have died in ICE custody this year than in any year since 2005. And peers Martin Costi reports the cause of the increase isn't clear. The number of people held by ice at any one time has ballooned. Right now, it's about 66,000. That's 70% higher than when President Trump took office.

But deaths have gone up more to about 30 for the year compared to 11 in 2024. At Syracuse University, Austin Coker studies the immigration enforcement system, and he's troubled by some clusters of deaths. I'm concerned that the rapid increase in the detained population at specific detention center, is creating the preconditions for more immigrants to have medical emergencies and ultimately to die while they're in ICE custody. ICE says in custody deaths this year, quote, average less than 1%. This is the lowest in history, unquote, but it does not explain how that figure was calculated. Martin Kosti, NPR News.

Bowerers are spending a lot of time trying to keep up with big changes to the federal student loan system. NPR's Corey Turner reports 2026 will bring even more change. Republicans have overhauled a lot from repayment plans to how much Americans can borrow in the first place. Earlier this month, the Trump administration unveiled a proposed agreement to shut down the Biden-era Save repayment plan. Next year, the roughly 7 million borrowers in Save will likely have to move to a new plan. Also, big changes passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will kick in starting in July. Those include borrowing limits for grad students and for new borrowers, replacing all of the old repayment plans with just two new ones.

Barrowers are clearly feeling uncertain. The latest data show that 12 million Americans are either laid on their payments or in default. Corey Turner, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A high-ranking official who was next in line to head the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has died. Jeffrey Holland was 85 years old. The church's website says Holland died from complications of kidney disease. He previously served as president of Brigham Young University, where he instructed staff and faculty in 2021 to defend marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Holland also led a governing body that helps set church policy while overseeing the business interests of the Mormon Church. 92-year-old Henry Eyring is now next in line for the church's presidency. A grizzly bear was seen this week in southwestern. Montana on a mountain range. That hasn't been had bears in more than 50 years. Montana Public Radio's Ellis Julin reports the siting comes as lawmakers consider removing the bear's federal protections. State wildlife officials confirm the bear siding in mountains roughly 100 miles from Yellowstone National Park. The first time a grizzly's been spotted there since bear recovery began in the 1970s. The regions around Yellowstone and Glaciery National Park support the two

largest populations of bears in Montana. As their numbers grow, the bear's bears are seeking out new habitat in their historic ranges. Congress is currently considering legislation to take these bears off the endangered species list. Montana and Wyoming state officials say this population has sufficiently recovered and are requesting grizzlies be delisted. U.S. Fish and Wildlife last January rejected states' petitions to delist bears in the lower 48. For NPR News, I'm Ellis Jew Lynn in Missoula, Montana. And I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe.

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