NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-28-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jail Snyder. A titan of French cinema has died. Brigitte Bordeaux was 91. Bordeaux was a worldwide icon in the 1950s and 60s. She announced her retirement before the age of 40 and with later court controversy with her comments on race and homosexuality. The BBC's Cater Russell looks back at her life. That I love you, love you, love you, jealise. 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 Vadim. 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.

a 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 an icon who put the bikini, female desire and French cinema on the map. The BBC's Katie Russell reporting Bardo's Animal Rights Foundation says she died at her home in southern France but did not provide a cause. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky do it Mar-Lago today to meet with President Trump. The two are to discuss a potential peace deal with Russia. Disagreements remain, though, on crucial issues, including territory and possible security guarantees. Zelensky arrived in Florida last night, following a stopover in Halifax, as Dan Carpenshuk reports.

Zelensky was welcomed to Canada by Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Halifax airport. Carney confirmed the Russian air attacks and also announced $2.5 billion in additional economic aid to Ukraine. He said Russia's most recent attack on Kyiv was barbaric. and shows how important it is to stand with Ukraine. Zelensky said the Russian attack with more than 500 drones and missiles shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a man of war. This attack is, again, Russia's answer on our peace efforts. And it's really a show that Putin doesn't want this.

Zelenskyy said the U.S.-backed peace plan is about 90% ready, but some sticking points remain such as security guarantees. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpenchuk in Toronto. Now to Philadelphia, where residents, including Acea Velasca, has been at least part of this weekend, shoveling after a winter storm blew through, blanketing the area with seven inches of snow and sleep. I was born in a reason, Philly, so it's like this is nothing. It's like prepare for the worse, hope for the best. The storm led to a slew of flight delays and cancellations, many of them in the New York area, including at JFK, International Airport, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty. According to the flight tracking website, Flight Aware, there are more than.

than 1,200 delays in cancellations at the nation's airports today. You're listening to NPR News. Polls have closed in Myanmar, where voters today cast ballots in the first phase of a general election that the military says will bring political stability. Critics say the election is a facade to legitimize military rule. Two more rounds of voting will be held next month before final results are announced. The election is the first since the military coup in 2021 toppled the government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. She remains in detention, and the party she led has been dissolved, though to turn out today is said to have been very low. China is gauging the public's reaction to potential new rules that would regulate the behavior of AI chatbots. The rules would, among other things, ban obscenity and the glamorizing of suicide,

our assembly fang reports. These new rules up for public comment would ban any AI behaviors that manipulate humans and, quote, harm personal dignity and mental health. They would also ban gambling behavior, anything that abets crime, broadly speaking, and obtaining sensitive personal information. They'd also compel AI companies to train their chatbots and data sets that, quote, conform to the core socialist values and embody the exceptional traditional culture of the Chinese people. strict rules already apply to humans on the internet. New guidelines published this week by China's cyberspace administration for bids influencers, for example, from acting lewd, vulgar,

or promoting anti-mainstream values, including encouraging people not to work. Emily Fang and Pier News. And I'm Jail Snyder. This is NPR 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 C's Apply.