NPR News: 12-12-2025 9PM EST

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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Ryland Barton 0:00

Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theschmidt.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton.

What significant photos were released by Congressional Democrats?

Ryland Barton 0:18

Congressional Democrats released photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate, including pictures of President Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and other prominent figures. One picture of Trump includes six women whose faces are blacked out. Republicans are accusing Democrats who released the images of cherry-picking photos to create a false narrative and that the pictures don't show any wrongdoing by Trump. The Trump administration is lifting sanctions on a Brazilian judge who U.S. officials claim was too harsh on President Trump's political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro. NPR's Carrie Khan reports.

Carrie Khan 0:52

Bolsonaro was sentenced to decades in prison for attempting to overturn his re-election loss and stay in power.

How is the Trump administration responding to sanctions on Brazil?

Carrie Khan 0:59

Trump had said the U.S. sanctions against Justice Alexandre de Moraes were justified because of what he called a witch hunt against Bolsonaro. He condemned Brazil's current leftist leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and imposed harsh tariffs on the country's exports. But in a reversal, the Justice Department has now lifted the sanctions against Moraes and his wife, Trump has also gradually lifted many of the tariffs. He and Lula have forged a cordial relationship in recent weeks. Bolsonaro began his 27-year sentence in a special cell in Brasilia. Earlier this week, the lower house passed a law that could reduce his time in jail. Carrie Khan, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro.

Ryland Barton 1:38

The Treasury Department is targeting businesses used to send money abroad as the Trump administration ramps up investigations into fraud within Minnesota's Somali community.

What developments are happening in the Somali community regarding fraud investigations?

Ryland Barton 1:48

Treasury Secretary Scott Besant says money wire services sending funds to Somalia will need to submit additional verification. Trump also threatens the Somali community with immigration enforcement. The man at the center of a months-long deportation fight has avoided being rearrested for now. As NPR's Martin Costi reports, Kilmar Abrego-Garcia was released from detention today.

Martin Kosti 2:11

Abrego-Garcia had been ordered to check in at the ICE field office in Baltimore, and his lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moschenberg, told a crowd of supporters that there was concern he wouldn't come back out.

Unknown 2:21

We'll never know what their plans were for this morning, whether it was a check-in, whether they were planning to arrest him, but he's walking out the door and he's heading back to Prince George's County to be with his family, with his child, with his wife, waiting there for him.

Martin Kosti 2:35

A federal judge ordered ICE not to detain him while a legal motion is pending. Earlier this year, the administration deported him wrongfully to a prison in his native El Salvador. Obriga Garcia originally entered the U.S. illegally, but is shielded from being sent to El Salvador.

How is the White House addressing accessibility for deaf Americans?

Martin Kosti 2:50

He also faces criminal charges for human smuggling. Martin Kosti, NPR News.

Ryland Barton 2:54

The European Union is indefinitely freezing Russia's assets in Europe. The move seeks to ensure that the Moscow-friendly governments of Hungary and Slovakia can't prevent the billions of euros from being used to support Ukraine. The EU is pressuring Russia to give up its war on Ukraine. This is NPR News from Washington. The White House argues that providing American sign language interpretation for events like press briefings would intrude on the president's control over his public image. Advocates sued the administration, saying the lack of ASL interpretation denies deaf Americans access. A federal judge ordered the White House to provide the interpreting, but the administration appealed. Millions of Americans will see another round of extreme cold over the coming days, as NPR's Matt Bloom reports a mass of Arctic air is forecast to move south from Canada.

What extreme weather conditions are forecasted for the upcoming days?

Matt Bloom 3:45

A deep pool of frigid air currently building over northern Canada is set to surge into large portions of the central and eastern United States this weekend, bringing some of the coldest temperatures of the season so far.