NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-31-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: December 31, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. President Trump says he's removing National Guard forces from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland. In a social media post an hour ago, he said they will return if crime increases in those cities. But the Supreme Court yesterday left in place a ruling by a federal judge in Chicago that bars the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops in Illinois. That decision would require the troops to be removed from Chicago. The Department of Justice says it's still working. to review files related to Jeffrey Epstein before they released,

that's after missing a December 19th deadline set by law. NPR's Stephen Fowler has this updates. We don't know how many Epstein files are yet to be released, and we don't know when they will be. But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says in a social media post that DOJ lawyers are working, quote, around the clock to review them. A law passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in November directed the Justice Department to release all files related to Epstein,

by December 19th and with minimal redactions. Neither of those requirements has been met so far, despite about 40,000 new pages published under the law in the last two weeks. Stephen Fowler, NPR News. Healthcare premiums are going up starting tomorrow for millions of Americans after Congress has failed to further extend subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. In New Mexico, state officials say they'll temporarily cover those additional costs, but in other states it's not certain how lawmakers will respond.

Georgia Democratic State Representative Sam Park is calling for his state to follow New Mexico's lead. It's estimated that at least for one year it would cost about $900 million. I don't think the state could permanently fill this gap, but at the very least it could mitigate harm and hopefully create a transition to ensuring that more folks could get covered. Police in New York City are increasing security ahead of tonight's New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square. As NPR's Windsor-Johnston reports, thousands of officers and survey. The New York City is rolling out heightened security for tonight's New Year's Eve celebration. Mayor Eric Adams says there are no known threats, but police say they're prepared. We will have plane-closed, K-9 teams, officers on horsebacks, on our trains, subway stations, and in helicopters, and on boats.

Pedestrians and vehicle closures will be in effect leading up to and during the fint. Security is everyone's responsibility again. See something, say something, do something. More than a million people are expected to pack into Times Square to watch the ball drop at midnight. Windsor Johnston, NPR News. On the final day of trading in 2025, stocks were down on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 303 points. The NASDAQ was down 177 points, and the SMP 500 closed down 50 points. You're listening to NPR News.

Science magazine says the unstoppable growth of renewable energy is its breakthrough of the year for 2025. NPR's Julius Simon reports. Across the world, from Pakistan to Nigeria, everyday citizens are no longer turning exclusively to polluting fossil fuels to get reliable electricity. They're turning to solar panels and batteries. Much of the renewable technology comes from cheap exports from China. According to Energy Think Tank Ember, for 2025 was the first year that renewable energy surpassed coal as a source of electricity. The implications for the climate are huge, particularly for China, the world's biggest polluter.

Because of the growth of renewable energy, China's planet heating emissions have been flat or falling for the last 18 months. And Chinese exports of solar, wind, and battery technologies mean other countries are reducing their emissions too. Julia Simon, NPR News. It's the end of an era. Investor Warren Buffett stepped down as CEO for Berkshire Hathaway today. He'll remain chairman, but Greg Abel is now running the show there. Buffett was at the helm of the investment firm for six decades. Speaking to employees, he summed up his investing approach over the years. Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful.

Today is a big college football day with one college football playoff quarterfinal tonight when the Ohio State Buckeyes take on the hurricanes of Miami. Iowa, meanwhile, beat Vanderbilt 34 to 27 by relying at its ground game. And at the half, Michigan and Texas are tied at 17. There are two other games currently underway. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.