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NPR News Now

NPR News: 12-19-2025 3PM EST

19 Dec 2025

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 17.297 Unknown

Support for NPR and the following message come from the estate of Joan B. Kroc, whose bequest serves as an enduring investment in the future of public radio and seeks to help NPR produce programming that meets the highest standards of public service in journalism and cultural expression.

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19.032 - 22.257 Janine Herbst

Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Herbst.

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Chapter 2: What drug pricing changes did President Trump announce?

22.277 - 30.17 Janine Herbst

At the White House today, President Trump says more drug companies, some of the biggest drug makers, have agreed to lower drug prices for Americans.

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30.411 - 55.301 Unknown

They've agreed to offer many of their flagship drugs, really all of their flagship drugs, at heavily discounted, most favored nations prices. In other words, whatever the drug sells for over the world, in the world. Whatever the lowest number is, if it's Germany, if it's in UK, anywhere, we will match that price.

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56.062 - 77.146 Janine Herbst

Trump says the companies include Santa Fe, Novartis, Behringer, Gilead, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, GSK, Merck, and Amgen. He says other countries will pay more for U.S. drugs, and he says if they don't, he will implement more tariffs. Today's the deadline for the Justice Department to release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Chapter 3: What updates were provided regarding the Jeffrey Epstein files?

77.607 - 92.523 Janine Herbst

Last month, President Trump signed a law ordering the records to be released. But Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanch tells Fox News they will only release a partial batch of files today, hundreds of thousands of them, and more over the next couple of weeks.

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Chapter 4: What are the implications of TikTok's U.S. operations sale?

92.543 - 100.272 Janine Herbst

He says that's to give them more time to redact names and identifying information about the victims. Empire Stephen Fowler has more on the files.

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100.252 - 108.485 Stephen Fowler

hundreds of gigabytes of digital and physical evidence that the FBI has, grand jury files, and other things that have already been made public otherwise.

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109.066 - 124.19 Stephen Fowler

It's also worth pointing out the law gives this deadline of 30 days after Trump signed it as a deadline, but there is no enforcement mechanism or penalties or consequences written into the law for this time not being met or any improper redaction of information.

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124.771 - 142.172 Janine Herbst

NPR's Stephen Fowler reporting. Online video sharing app TikTok has reached a deal to sell its U.S. operations to a group of investors, including the big tech company Oracle, run by billionaire Larry Ellison, who is a longtime ally of President Trump. And here's Bobby Allen has more.

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Chapter 5: What measures is Australia taking in response to gun violence?

142.22 - 156.057 Bobby Allen

After more than five years of intense debate, TikTok's U.S. operations have been sold to a consortium of investors. That group includes software and data center company Oracle, private equity firm Silverlake, and MGC, an investment company backed by the United Arab Emirates.

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156.517 - 169.813 Bobby Allen

Under the terms of the deal, which were confirmed by NPR, current ByteDance investors will keep about a third of the entity, and Beijing-based ByteDance will hold a minority stake. Backers don't expect American users of TikTok to notice any major changes.

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169.793 - 178.945 Bobby Allen

China hawks in Washington have been worried about Beijing using TikTok to influence the political views of the 170 million Americans on the app.

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Chapter 6: How is President Trump's name impacting the Kennedy Center?

178.965 - 187.036 Bobby Allen

Yet under the deal, ByteDance will still own the app's algorithm with audits by the new American-led entity. Bobby Allen, NPR News.

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187.576 - 213.857 Janine Herbst

And Oracle is a financial supporter of NPR. Dow's trading higher at this hour, up 263 points. You're listening to NPR News. Australia's government says it will launch a national gun buyback program following Sunday's deadly shooting that killed 15 people. Australia's prime minister says he expects hundreds of thousands of weapons to be surrendered. Christina Kukula has more.

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213.837 - 231.639 Christina Kukala

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says there are currently more than four million firearms in the country. That's even more than in the late 1990s, when a mass shooting attack in Tasmania killed 35 people and prompted a major reform of gun ownership laws. Albanese says tougher action is needed today.

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231.699 - 236.385 Unknown

The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets.

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236.45 - 257.614 Christina Kukala

Funding for the buyback programme needs to be legislated. Australia's government says the programme will target surplus newly banned and illegal firearms and surrendered weapons will be destroyed. It also wants to limit how many guns a person can own and to make Australian citizenship a condition of holding a gun licence. For NPR News, I'm Christina Kukala in Melbourne.

257.594 - 278.083 Janine Herbst

President Trump's name has already been added to the Kennedy Center building in Washington, D.C. This after the board he hand-picked voted to add his name to the Performing Arts Center. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts was built as a living memorial to the 35th president, and changing the name may require congressional approval.

278.063 - 296.494 Janine Herbst

Some of the Kennedy family are blasting the change. Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated as he ran for president, says Trump is repressing artistic expression, which she says is the core mission of the center. I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.

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