NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-27-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2025

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This message comes from the NBC News original podcast, Here's the Scoop. Every evening, join NBC News reporters for a deep dive into the day's top stories, from the front page to the zeitgeist in 15 minutes or less. Search, Here's the Scoop to follow now. Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Hurst. Russia launched a huge missile and drone attack on Ukraine today, hitting power plants and residential areas in the capital, Kiev leaving at least two people dead, dozens wounded. Ukraine's military says Russia launched

40 missiles and 519 drones. This a day before Ukraine's president, Zelensky, is set to meet with President Trump in Florida tomorrow on security measures and the latest peace proposal in Russia's nearly four-year-old war against Ukraine. Zelensky says the attack, which lasted for nearly 10 hours, shows Russia isn't serious about peace. On his way to the U.S., Zelensky stopped in Halifax meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. The barbarism that we saw overnight in the attack on Kiev shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine during this difficult time and that we've created the conditions for this just and lasting peace and a true reconstruction.

Carney also announced an additional $2.5 billion in economic aid for Ukraine. Tomorrow Zelensky is expected to ask Trump for security guarantees to prevent further Russian aggression. In Syria, hundreds of mourners gathered outside a mosque and homes today after a bomb exploded during Friday prayers. The Syrian Ministry of Health says eight people were killed. And Pierce Hidal-Al-Shulchi has more. The explosion happened in a mosque in the Wadi al-Dehive neighborhood of Homs. The area is known to be predominantly made up of members of the Al-Awai's sect, an offshoot of Islam. Many hardline Islamists consider Al-Wite's apostates. An offshoot of ISIS called Saraya Ansar Suna

claimed responsibility for the attack. The Syrian news agency, Sanaa, said explosive devices were planted in the mosque. The same group was accused of carrying out a suicide attack last summer inside a church in Syria, killing 25 people. The country has seen a rise in sectarian violence since the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this attack represented a, quote, desperate attempt to undermine the country's security. Hadil al-Shalchi, NPR News.

trust in federal health agencies has declined this year, and a new podcast hopes to change that. And Pierce Ping Huang has more. It's a podcast called Why Should I Trust You? And it was started by scientists and journalists that identify more with traditional public health. But they also saw that institutions lost trust during the pandemic when people felt failed or ignored by the rules in the health system. Host Brenda Adikari says people's deeply held beliefs are not easily swayed. I think it happens between people who, trust each other, people who really love each other. Usually their values tend to be aligned in some way.

The podcasts hosts conversations between traditional public health leaders and organizers in Maha or the Make America Healthy Again movement. Adikari says among their regular guests, they're starting to build some trust. Ping Huang, NPR News. This is NPR News. Disability rights advocate Bob Kafka has died. He was 79 years old. Kafka was an organizer with ADAPT, a group that advocates for policy change to support people with disabilities. The Army veteran, who was paralyzed in a car accident in 1973, was born in New York City, but spent much of his life in Texas. Shed hunting, the collection of shed antlers and horns, has become an extremely popular pastime, but many Western states are restricted in the winter. Colorado Public Radio's Dina Sig has more.

shed hunting January through April to help keep wild animals for being stressed by humans. John Livingston, with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, says the number of shed hunters has exploded in recent years. Things going from just a few people out there with their backpacks, looking for sheds, to folks even out there on ATVs and side-by-side chasing animals around that haven't dropped their antlers yet, you know, hoping to stress them out and get them to drop those antlers. Deer elk and moose lose those antlers annually. They're used in decor, dog toys, even medicine. From NPR News, I'm Steena Sieg, in Grand Junction, Colorado. In Taiwan, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck off the northeast coast of the country today. Officials say tremors were

felt across the island, including the capital, Taipei, where buildings shook. There are no immediate reports of casualties or widespread damage. Taiwan's president is calling on residents to be alert for Aftershocks. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News, in Washington. 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.