WORLD Radio News - WORLD Radio News: 12-23-25 (3/3)

Episode Date: December 23, 2025

The latest headlines in three minutes from WORLD updated three times throughout the day.Sign-up for the daily Sift email at thesift.org.Support sound journalism, grounded in facts and Biblical truth at wng.org/donate.

With World Radio News, I'm Kent Covington. Russia launched one of its largest air attacks on Ukraine just days before Christmas, firing more than 600 drones and missiles overnight and into Tuesday morning. At least three civilians were killed, including a four-year-old child. The strikes hit homes and power facilities across 13 regions knocking out electricity as temperatures dropped during the holiday week. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, says the timing, sends a clear message as P. Stocks continue,

with Moscow pressing its assault rather than slowing down. President Trump has announced plans for what he's calling the Golden Fleet, a proposed new class of U.S. warships that he said would be the largest, fastest, and most powerful ever built. We envision that these two ships, we're talking about 10, but we're going to start with two, and we're going to quickly morph into 10, and ultimately we think it's going to be anywhere from 20 to 25 of these. Trump says he plans to meet with defense contractors next week in Florida, but any new fleet would still need approval and funding from Congress, which controls defense spending.

He made the announcement at his Mar-Lago resort alongside senior administration officials as the Navy continues operations targeting Venezuelan drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean. The president brushed aside questions about whether the proposal was meant to counter China's naval buildup, saying the plan is aimed at deterring any potential foe. The U.S. economy picked up steam over the summer, growing at the strongest rate in two years, soundly beating expectations. World's Kristen Flavin has details. The Commerce Department reports that the economy grew at a 4.3 percent annual pace from July through September. Everyday spending helped to drive that growth.

Americans kept buying cars, traveling, eating out, and paying for services, even as inflation remained somewhat elevated. Consumer spending rose at a rate of three and a half percent up from the spring. Tuesday's report was delayed due to the government shutdown, but it shows households are still opening their wallets. That's especially higher-income consumers helped by strong markets and investments. For World, I'm Kristen Flavin. In Paris, security is getting a visible upgrade at the Louvre Museum after last fall's brazen jewel heist. With the museum closed on Tuesday, workers used a...

freight lift to install metal bars on the second floor window that thieves used to break into the Apollo Gallery. Back in October, a crew posing as maintenance workers wrote a similar lift, cut through the glass, and stole crown jewels worth more than $100 million all in roughly eight minutes. For World Radio, I'm Kent Covington. For more sound journalism grounded in facts and biblical truth, visit World Radio.com. News. Additional support comes from Medashear, where Christians are saving money on their health care with biblical wellness and community. Metashare.com slash world.