NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-30-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. A federal judge has ruled that the White House cannot stop funding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The decision comes just days before the agency would have run out of money. Judge Amy Berman ruled that the CFPB can continue receiving funds from the Federal Reserve, despite the Fed operating at a loss. The order blocks for now efforts by President Trump and budget director Russell vote to effectively shut down the agency. The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington, D.C., the night before the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, was back in federal court today. Prosecutors say Brian Cole Jr. should stay in jail while awaiting trial, as NPR's Ryan Lucas reports.

They also say that after Cole's arrest, he voluntarily spoke to investigators, and they say Cole confessed to building these pipe bombs to transporting them and planting them. Cole allegedly also told them that he needed to, quote, unquote, speak up for people who felt, that the 2020 election, which Donald Trump lost, had been tampered with. And that's interesting because it's really the first hint at a possible motive for coal that we have seen prosecutors put forward in their filings or in their statements in court. NPR's Ryan Lucas reporting, META is buying an artificial intelligence company called MANIS. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, Meta will pay $2 billion for the tech firm, which has ties to China. Manus is based in Singapore but has Chinese founders.

It became a hot startup after a demo last spring, showed how its AI agent can analyze stock portfolios, book vacations, and screen job candidates. Meta says it plans to integrate Manus's services across all of its social media products like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. It's a latest sign that the battle over the next phase of the AI race is focused on AI agents. They are AI tools that can perform real-world tasks and serve as a kind of automated personal assistant with little or no human guidance.

Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Palantir, and others are all rushing to develop cutting-edge AI agents. A meta spokesperson says once the deal is complete, Manus's services and operations will be shut down in China. Bobby Allen and PR News. Tens of thousands of people protested across Somalia today following Israel's announcement that it formally recognizes this self-declared republic of Somaliland. As an independent state, Michael Koloki has more. Protests took place across Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu. Demonstrators chanted slogans rejecting Israel's recognition of Somaliland.

Somaliland declared independence from. Somalia in 1991, but has until now not been officially recognized as an independent state by any country. At a UN Security Council meeting in New York, Monday, Somalia strongly opposed Israel's announcement, claiming it poses a threat to regional security. Meanwhile, Somalia's president, Hassan Muhammad, was in Turkey to meet with Turkish counterpart, Recep type Erdogan. Erdogan says Israel's recognition of Somaliland is an illegal step. For NPR News, I'm Michael Kaluke in Nairobi. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. An Idaho company is recalling nearly 3,000 pounds of raw ground beef that may have been contaminated

with e-coli. The recall involves 16-ounce vacuum-sealed packages labeled Forward Farms, grass-fed ground beef. The packages were produced on December 16th and have a label telling customers to use or freeze by January 13th. The Department of Agriculture says it has no reports of illness due to the contamination, which was discovered in a sample during a routine testing. The Spanish woman who infamously restored a fresco of Jesus and became an internet sensation has died. She was 94 years old, NPR's Andrew Limbong has more. At the time, people said to Celia Jimenez botched the painting of Jesus in a red tunic wearing a crown of thorns. This was back in 2012, and the original painting lived at Jimenez's local church in Borja, Spain. It was

looking a little rundown in Jimenez. took it upon herself to fix it. The result ended up looking a little fuzzy with people comparing the new portrait to a werewolf or a monkey. The story quickly went viral and the image got memed and the painting became pretty famous

turning the town into a tourist destination. And although Jimenez was originally ridiculed so much that she was bedridden from anxiety, she eventually became a local celebrity with her life being honored by Borja officials. Andrew Limbong and Pierre News. The year's first super moon and meteor shower will compete for dominance in January skies.

The quadranted meteor shower peaks Friday night into Saturday morning, but fewer than 10 meteors will be visible per hour due to light from Saturday's supermoon. There won't be another supermoon until the end of 2026. This is NPR News.