NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-28-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2025

NPR News: 12-28-2025 1PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. President Trump is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, this afternoon in Florida. Zelensky has said they'll discuss trying to find an end to the Russian war in Ukraine. NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben has more. In a Friday interview with Politico, Trump cast himself as a top decision-maker with any peace agreement. He said that Zelensky, quote, doesn't have anything until I approve it, so we'll see what he's got. Among the major sticking points is the question of territory. Russia wants to take some parts of eastern Ukraine, and Zelensky has been adamantly opposed.

Russia attacked Kiev again on Saturday, killing at least one person and injuring 27. It's unclear how Russia will respond to any agreement that Trump and Zelensky might come to. Danielle Kurtzleben and PR News. President Trump posted on social media today that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone in advance of his meeting with Zelensky. called it a good and very productive call. The president is to meet tomorrow at Marlago with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. There to discuss the next step in the war with Hamas in Gaza, Trump's 20-point peace plan is still in its first phase. President Trump wants to move to

the next step. Nimrod Novik served as an advisor to the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. He doubts Netanyahu shares that view. The mood in the prime minister's office is cynical about the statement coming from Washington, that phase two is imminent. What I hear from Jerusalem, from those circles, is it's not happening. And the bottom line is, quote, if we don't disarm Hamas, no one will, which is code word for we are ready to resume fighting. Also, he says, 2026 is an election year in Israel. The Census Bureau is looking for temporary workers in six states to help carry out a major field test. It's part of preparations for the 2030 census that will be used to redistribute political representation and federal spending.

NPR's Hansi Luong reports. The Census Bureau says it needs about 1,500 workers for the 2026 census test, and it's looking for U.S. citizens who have been parts of Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Many of these temporary workers will be knocking on doors to help develop better ways of getting a count of every person living in the states in 2030. Those numbers determine each state share of congressional seats, electoral college votes, and federal funding for public services. The 26th census test will also involve selected households from around the country.

Starting in March, the Bureau says it plans to mail out invitations to take part in the test. Some census advocates are concerned, though, that growing distrust in the federal government may discourage many people from participating. Anzila Wong, NPR News. This is NPR News in Washington. In Syria, thousands of members of the Alawite religious minority post-Protista today, two days after a bombing in an Alawite mosque that killed eight people. They're demanding the government do more to stop violence against them.

Most Syrians are Sunni Muslims, and the Alawite faith stems from Shia Islam. A little-known group claimed responsibility for Friday's attack, saying it considers the Alawite sect to be a parliament. states. A titan of French cinema has died. Brigitte Bardot was 91. She was a worldwide icon in the 1950s and 60s. She announced her retirement before the age of 40 and would later court controversy with her comments on race and homosexuality. The BBC's Katie Russell looks back at her life. In the stodgy 1950s, Brigitte Bardot brought a blast of continental sensuality to cinema screens. By the age of 15, she was one of France's top models and in love with film producer

Roger Vardin. In 1956, they made and God-created woman. In it, Bardot's character pursues her sexual desires without shame. Many cinema goers were shocked. On turning 40, Bardot quit to campaign for animal rights. In later life, she was fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred and caused a fence when talking about homosexuality. Scars on the memory of of an icon who put the bikini, female desire and French cinema on the map. The BBC's Katie Russell, Bardo's Animal Rights Foundation, says she died today at her home in southern France. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington.