NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-30-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Dave Mattingly. President Trump is warning Iran not to rebuild its nuclear program. The president threatened to strike Iran again if Tehran attempts to reconstitute its nuclear capabilities. Trump issued the warning yesterday at his home in Florida where he was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump has insisted Iran's nuclear capabilities were destroyed when the U.S. struck three of Iran's nuclear enrichment sites back in June. China is carrying out military drills near the island of Taiwan. As NPR's Emily Fang reports, these latest Chinese exercises are larger than previous ones and closer to Taiwan. 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.

recent approval of an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan. Emily Fang and Peer News. The Trump administration is promising $2 billion in humanitarian aid to more than a dozen countries. That's in addition to the U.N.'s Central Emergency Fund. As Linda Fasulo reports, that pledge is smaller than in previous years. After drastic cuts to U.S. spending on foreign aid, U.N. humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, says the organization is resetting its approach.

to reduce red tape and duplication of efforts and prioritize better. The U.S. has warned U.N. agencies to, quote, adapt or die. U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mike Walts says the U.N. reset should deliver more aid with fewer tax dollars. The U.S. pledge is well short of years past. Its contributions have been as much as $17 billion. But the U.S. remains this year's largest U.N. donor. Other major Western donors are also making cuts. As aid prioritizes 17 countries, including South Sudan, Ukraine, Haiti, Syria, and Nigeria.

Aid to Gaza will be handled separately. For Empire News, Melinda Fasulow in New York. The U.S. military says it struck another suspected drug boat, this time in the Eastern Pacific, killing two people. This latest attack was announced on social media by the U.S. Southern Command. Since early September, the U.S. has carried out at least 30 such strikes. This is NPR News. Areas of the Upper Midwest, the Great Lakes region, and New England are seeing wintry weather. A blast of Arctic air extends as far south as Florida.

NPR's Brian Mann says New York is under a state of emergency while Vermont is bracing for flooding. The winter storm has brought a mix of wind, rain, snow, and ice, forcing road closures, canceling and delaying airline flights. New York Governor Kathy Hockel says non-noburn. a central state employee should stay home whenever possible, with white-out conditions expected in much of the state. Thousands of line crews are in the field trying to restore power to electric customers on social media. Vermont Governor Phil Scott warned of the possibility of flash floods throughout the state, urging people to, quote, remain vigilant and be prepared.

According to the National Weather Service, more heavy snow is expected in the Great Lakes region through midweek, with Arctic air likely to hit the eastern two-thirds of the country, including Florida. Brian Mann, NPR News in upstate New York. The National Association of Realtors says pending home sales in the U.S. jumped 3.3% in November. As compared to the same month a year ago, they were up more than 2.5%. Increases were recorded in the South, the Northeast, the Midwest, and the West. Authorities in North Carolina are investigating the cause of a house fire that killed the father of NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin. The driver's mother,

was critically injured in the fire. Firefighters say when they arrived on scene they found the couple outside the home suffering from what they described as catastrophic injuries. I'm Dave Mattingley, NPR News, in Washington.