NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-29-2025 8PM EST

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

NPR News: 12-29-2025 8PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for NPR, and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. China has begun its most extensive military drills around the island of Taiwan. They're larger, and as NPR's Emily Fang reports, closer to Taiwan than previous drills. The Chinese military, the PLA, is encircling Taiwan. A map of its drills show their exercises are budding right up to Taiwan's territorial waters. Analyst William Young with the nonprofit advisory organization, the International Crisis Group, says the drills show China has made big stride since 2022. It demonstrates that the POA's capability of deploying military assets to key strategic wartime positions has really improved over the last few years.

Beijing says the drill sent a warning. to Taiwanese leaders, it claims, are separatists and to telegraph displeasure at the U.S.'s recent approval of an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan. Emily Fang and Pier News. The U.N. Security Council held an emergency session on Israel's decision last week to recognize Somaliland as an independent nation. As NPR's Jackie Northam reports, Israel is the first country to recognize the autonomous region in northwestern Somalia, which declared independence more than three decades ago.

Most Security Council members reaffirmed support for Somalia's internationally recognized government, saying Israel's decision to recognize Somaliland could destabilize the Horn of Africa and beyond and reverse counterterrorism gains in the region. There's concern Israel wants to resettle Palestinians from Gaza in Somaliland, but Israel says the move is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords. Abu Qar Dahir Osman, Osmond, Somalia's UN representative, disagreed, saying recognizing Somaliland as an independent state is unlawful. Somalia is one country, one people, one religion.

The U.S. told the Security Council it had no announcement to make with regards to Somaliland. Jackie Northam, NPR News. The U.S. State Department has announced it will contribute $2 billion to the United Nations for humanitarian aid work. As NPRs at Gabriela Emmanuel reports, this is a fraction of what the U.S. contributed in past years. The State Department says the aid will provide life-saving support to tens of millions of people facing hunger and disease. However, it said the money requires the U.N. to make some structural changes to address what the administration calls, quote, ideological creep within U.N. agencies. This year, the U.S. has dramatically cut the amount of money it spends on foreign aid. And it has now shifted its emphasis to distributing aid directly to countries, rather than working through institutions.

institutions like the UN. Gabriela Emmanuel and PR News. Stocks slipped on Wall Street today. The S&P 500 fell three-tenths of a percent. It's up more than 17 percent for the year. This is NPR. Iran's state television says that Russia has sent three Iranian communications satellites into orbit. The report said that a rocket sent the satellites yesterday from a launch pad in eastern Russia.

The launch highlights the strong ties between the two countries. the U.S. says Iran's satellite launches defy a U.N. resolution. In his first year back in the White House, President Trump has been shaking up Washington, but as NPRs at Tamara Keith reports, it's not just policy, it's also aesthetics. Trump has been on a remodeling spree, from tearing down the east wing of the White House to make room for his now $400 million ballroom and gilding the Oval Office to paving the rosegarten to resemble the patio at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. During a recent speech, Trump mused that he actually has two jobs.

I said somebody to somebody the other day, am I a better politician or a construction real estate person? And they didn't know how to answer that question. I'm not sure how to answer it either if you want to know the truth. Trump admitted paying attention to the fine details of so many renovation projects does take time, but said it is relaxing. Tamara Keith, NPR News. The New York City Transit System,

is retiring the Metro card after more than 30 years. The gold and blue swipable card was introduced in 1994 to replace the subway token, which had been used for half a century. Existing cards will still work for some time into 2026. The city is fully transitioning to a contactless payment system rolled out in 2019. I'm Ryland Barton. You're listening to NPR. 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. Tees and Cs apply.