NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-29-2025 11AM EST

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

NPR News: 12-29-2025 11AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Trump later today to discuss the future of the ceasefire in Gaza. He's traveling with the mother of the last Israeli hostage whose body has still not been recovered. NPR's Itai Stern reports from Tel Aviv. This will be the sixth meeting between Netanyahu and Trump. The president is expected to press Netanyahu to move to the next phase. of the ceasefire, even as the prime minister faces pressure from the far-right minister in his

coalition, who are opposed to any Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu arrived in Florida accompanied by Talik Vili, the mother of staff-surgeon Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage whose body is still missing. Hamas says it doesn't know where the remains are, and it's still searching for him amid mounds of rubble. Gvili says she wants the two leaders not to move to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement until her son's body is returned. It's a position Netanyahu's also insisted on. Mittai Stern, NPR News, Tel Aviv. President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks yesterday to discuss a potential end to the war with Russia. After the meeting, Zelensky said the negotiators agreed to 90% of the Trump administration's 20-part peace framework. Evelyn Farkis

is the executive director of the McCain Institute at Arizona State University. She tells NPR that Russia doesn't appear to be on board with the plan. I do not believe that Russia wants peace right now. And when I say Russia, I mean the Kremlin, I mean President Putin, the elites around him. It appears that either President Putin is bluffing or he has been convinced once again by his intelligence experts by his military that Russia has the upper hand right now. As part of the plan, Ukraine would receive security guarantees from the U.S. and would be able to join the European Union at a specific date in the future. A powerful winter storm is sweeping across the U.S. stretching from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast.

NPR's Matt Bloom reports. The storm has unleashed snow, ice, and severe thunderstorms across the Midwest, especially the Great Lakes region. Forecasters warn it has the potential to bring strong wind gusts up to 60, miles per hour and potential whiteout conditions making road travel dangerous. Snowfall is expected to reach up to two feet in some areas. As the storm moves northeast, it's expected to bring a mix of icy rain to parts of New England. On its back end, temperatures are expected to fall dramatically heading into the New Year's holiday. Cities from Houston to Atlanta are expected to see highs 10 to 15 degrees below average. Matt Bloom and PR News. On Wall Street, the

Dow was down two hundred thirty points. This is NPR. Public libraries around the country are releasing their most checked-out list for the past year. NPR's Neda Ulibe reports, one of the most popular books in 2025 was the novel, The Women. The Women by Kristen Hanna came out last year. It's about a U.S. Army nurse who serves in Vietnam. It was the number one most checked-out book on Libby, the public library app, and enumerary libraries, including the one in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Harold Escalante works. I shouldn't be surprised, but I kind of was that the women was number one yet again. Other top books this year included the Romantasy series about elite soldiers and their

dragons by Rebecca Yaros. All of the top ten books on Libby were by women, including the only non-fiction one. The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins is about the art of not caring about other people's opinions. Netta Ulibe, NPRUlibby, NPR. New York City says it's phasing out the Metro card. After more than 30 years, the swipable golden blue card will no longer be sold or refilled after December 31st. It was first introduced in 1994 to replace subway tokens. Writers can still use existing cards for a while, but the city's transit agency is now fully shifting to a tap-to-pay system that was rolled out in 2019. Stocks are trading lower on Wall Street at this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial average down 216 points. The NASDA composite also trading lower down 157. The S&P 500 down 29 points. I'm Windsor Johnston. NPR News in Washington.