NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-30-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay-Stevens. The Trump administration is providing more details on a recent U.S. strike on Venezuela. According to an official not authorized to speak on the matter, the CIA used a drone to attack an unmanned port facility that targeted alleged drug votes. As NPR's Tom Bowman reports, the attack is an escalation of the U.S. campaign against the government of Nicholas Maduro. An official non-authorized to speak publicly says this drone strike was carried out by the CIA, not the military, as we've seen so far with the attacks on some two dozen alleged drug boats, often using drones as well. And those military strikes are continuing. Another boat was hit just yesterday, killing two people on board.

But this is the first strike on land, clearly ramping up pressure on the Maduro regime. President Trump has already indicated the fight would move to land. And so this could be just the first one. NPR's Tom Bowman reporting. New data shows a surge in flu cases across the United States. NPR's Gabriella Emmanuel has details. The latest data comes from the period before people gathered for Christmas. It shows a steep increase in cases and more than 19,000 people were hospitalized for flu in that one week,

almost twice as many as the previous week. Andrew Peckosch with Johns Hopkins University says the surge, started in the northeast. All across the Midwest, you're seeing massive increases in activity as well as to the south. A couple of states out in the West have been spared the activity yet. The strain of flu driving up cases is not a great match for this year's flu vaccine. But experts say the shop provides more protection than no vaccine at all. Gabriela Emmanuel and PR News. President Trump's move to reschedule pot is being welcomed by marijuana companies. But NPR's Bill Chappell reports that there are still some questions remaining.

For state-licensed marijuana retailers like Sam Brill, moving pot from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 could let them claim basic business tax deductions. I'm paying a full tax bill on my gross margin, which no other company does except for people in our industry. Brill, the CEO of Asin Wellness, says the change would free up millions of dollars for his company. The Trump administration says rescheduling will also boost research. But Jillian Schauer of the Cannabis Regulators Association says some key details are in limbo. There's a lot that will still be challenging in researching cannabis unless we see a lot of agency policies change and adjust. For example, she says, scientists need more sources for acquiring marijuana that can research.

Bill Chappell, NPR News. A federal judge is ordering the Trump administration to continue seeking funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The administration is trying to dismantle CFPB. created in response to the Great Recession to protect consumers. This is NPR. The CDC has suspended child care funding to Minnesota, and is also demanding an audit of alleged fraud involving government programs there. In an announcement on X, acting CDC director, Jim O'Neill,

makes reference to a right-wing influencer's viral YouTube video suggesting several Somali-run child care centers in Minneapolis are shell companies. Governor Tim Wall says the state was all right. looking into fraud claims and calls federal interference a blatant attempt to harm his state. Tatiana Schlossberg has died at the age of 35. The granddaughter of John F. Kennedy was an environmental journalist, and Pierce Julius Simon has this remembrance. Last month in the New Yorker magazine, Tatiana Schlossberg wrote about the rare and aggressive blood cancer that was discovered hours after she gave birth to her daughter. She also described

how the health care system she relied on felt, quote, strained and shaky because of the actions of her cousin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Schlaasberg worked as a science reporter for the New York Times covering climate solutions like seagrass meadows that protect coastlines and store carbon dioxide and the urban planning concept of sponge cities, which soak up water and floods. She also wrote a book about climate solutions. Tatiana Schlossberg is survived by her family, including two small children, whose faces, she wrote, live permanently on the inside of her eyelids. Julia Simon, NPR News. U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street following today's losses. The Dow fell 94 points. The NASDAQ lost 55. The S&P dipped 9.

This is NPR News.