NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-29-2025 12PM EST

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-Lago today. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports Trump is trying to push forward his peace plan for Gaza, but Israel says it is not yet time to move to the next phase. Under the first part of the deal, Hamas was supposed to return all of the hostages taken in the October 7th attack. Israel says the U.S. shouldn't move forward until the U. remains of one final hostage are returned and Hamas agrees to give up power and weapons.

But Trump will want to show progress in his peace plans, says Israeli analysts Ayal Hulata. I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of the meeting in Marlago, President Trump will declare that there is an agreement on the Board of Peace starting to take action and the things are moving ahead. Trump is planning to chair the board. He's also trying to get an international force to Gaza. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, Jerusalem. Three days after Israel became the first country to formally recognize an independent state of Somaliland, China says it is opposed. Lijan, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, urge other countries today to

oppose what they describe as external interference and instead support a united stable Somalia. The diplomatic dispute looms over Netanyahu's meeting today with Trump, who recently leveled disparaging attacks against Somalia and Americans of Somali descent. A winter storm is bringing more ice, rain, and heavy winds and snow to states across the eastern U.S. Some places are under states of emergency. New York has imposed travel restrictions. Here's NPR's Brian Mann. Here in upstate New York, rain-coated trees and power lines overnight with thick layers of ice in some areas. The power company National Grid says crews are working to clean up debris and restore power to thousands of customers. Heavy rain and snow with white-out

conditions are expected to continue through New Year's Eve in some areas because of wind and road conditions a ban on empty tractor-trailer trucks is in effect in western New York. The National Weather Service has also issued ice storm warnings for parts of eastern Vermont. Writing on social media, Vermont Governor Phil Scott said travel is expected to be hazardous through Monday afternoon with more power outage as possible. Brian Mann, NPR News, Westport, New York. The thousands of visitors expected in New Orleans for New Year's, the All-State Sugar Bowl, and Mardi Gras. State leaders are deploying the Louisiana National Guard to bolster security, their decision drawing mixed reactions from residents, including Alvin Stevens.

A lot of homelessness going on and a lot of other things going on that needs attention other than National Guard walking around the street with their hands in their pockets. The heightened security is also linked to the anniversary of the New Year's Day terrorist attack in which a man drove a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street and killed 14 people. From Washington, it's NPR News. The Trump administration's freeze on anti-poverty program spending continues to hit organizations hard. Some cases, states are attempting to fill in the gaps. But overall, NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the administration says the target of the cuts is ideologically inspired spending.

So in a statement to NPR, the Office of Management and Budget, said these anti-poverty programs fund, quote, radically partisan activities. It cited teaching toddlers to be anti-racist and using clean energy for environmental justice. It said President Trump ran on fiscal responsibility and ending wasteful DEI spending. NPR's Jennifer Lutton reporting. There has been a big increase in the rates of pregnant women developing diabetes. And PR's Ping Wong reports it's jumped by nearly 40% in the past decade. Around 8% of pregnant women in the U.S. get gestational diabetes. It's a health problem that's risen consistently over the past 10 years.

That's according to an analysis of more than 12 million births led by scientists at Northwestern University and published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The researchers say the rise is likely related to worsening health in young people who are eating less healthfully and getting less exercise. In pregnancy, certain hormones can lead to a rise in blood sugar, causing gestational diabetes, which poses risks to the mother and child if it's not managed. While this type of diabetes usually resolves after giving birth, it has been linked with developing diabetes and cardiovascular problems later in life. Ping Huang, NPR News.

The Dow is down 254 points. This is NPR.