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NPR News Now

NPR News: 12-19-2025 4PM EST

19 Dec 2025

Transcription

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

0.031 - 17.314 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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18.543 - 21.809 Janine Hurst

Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Hurst.

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Chapter 2: What recent changes have been made to drug pricing agreements in the U.S.?

21.829 - 36.716 Janine Hurst

The Trump administration expanded a drug pricing deal to include nine additional pharmaceutical makers. These companies agreed to sell new and existing drugs to the U.S. government at the same price as other developed countries. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

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37.137 - 42.306 Yuki Noguchi

The White House has been pressuring drug makers to equalize U.S. pricing with other countries.

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Chapter 3: How is President Trump addressing voter concerns about the economy?

42.539 - 64.565 Yuki Noguchi

The administration says these agreements will lower Medicaid drug prices. Consumers who pay out-of-pocket will also be able to get lower prices for some of the company's most popular drugs through a government website called TrumpRx. Under the agreements, Amgen, Merck, GSK, and others will also invest $150 billion in U.S. manufacturing operations.

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Chapter 4: What financial support has the EU offered to Ukraine recently?

65.086 - 72.541 Yuki Noguchi

In exchange, the companies will be exempt from some of the administration's stiff tariffs for three years. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News.

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73.263 - 84.328 Janine Hurst

President Trump is set to speak in Rocky Mount, North Carolina tonight. He's working to overcome voters' gloomy views of the U.S. economy. From the North Carolina newsroom, Adam Wagner has more.

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84.809 - 89.86 Adam Wagner

Rocky Mount is the largest city in North Carolina's newly redrawn 1st Congressional District.

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Chapter 5: What legal challenges is the Trump administration facing regarding Harvard's funding?

90.025 - 111.983 Adam Wagner

There will be a five-way Republican primary there, with the party seeking to defeat two-term Democrat Don Davis. Even as the state's Republican-controlled legislature redrew the district to give the GOP an advantage, Jonathan Sutton owns a barbershop near the venue where Trump will speak. Sutton, a Democrat, says he's noticed a decidedly negative sentiment among friends and clients.

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111.963 - 129.178 Adam Wagner

Just dealing with people, people who kind of just say and don't know what's going on, not sure of their future. An NPR-PBS Marist poll found that only 36 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy. For NPR News, I'm Adam Wagner in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

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129.698 - 138.133 Janine Hurst

There's relief in Ukraine after the EU approved loaning the country more than $100 billion over the next two years. And here's Joanna Kikissis has more.

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Chapter 6: What trends are we seeing in the U.S. housing market as of November?

138.494 - 160.934 Joanna Kakisis

EU leaders failed to agree on using these immobilized Russian assets as collateral for a loan to Ukraine, fearing legal retribution from the Kremlin. Though the loan backed by the EU budget could be more costly, European leaders celebrated it as a win. So did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who says it shows Russia that Kyiv has strong support from its allies.

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161.415 - 179.466 Joanna Kakisis

The loan will cover two-thirds of Ukraine's financial and military needs over the next two years. Without the loan, Zelensky had warned that Ukraine would have to drastically cut its domestic drone production, leaving the country more vulnerable to Russian attacks. Joanna Kakisis, NPR News, Kyiv.

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181.994 - 204.206 Janine Hurst

Wall Street higher just before the close. The Dow up 183 points, the Nasdaq up 301, the S&P 500 up 59. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Trump administration is appealing a judge's ruling that restored more than $2 billion in federal funding to Harvard.

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204.707 - 213.165 Janine Hurst

Kirk Carapazza from member station WGBH reports the university already received much of the funding it was owed for work on federal grants and contracts.

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213.297 - 235.939 Kirk Carapazza

The administration is challenging Boston federal judge Alison Burroughs' September decision that found the government had tried to strong-arm Harvard into adopting certain admissions and hiring reforms, using concerns about anti-Semitism as a smokescreen. The administration had also threatened to end Harvard's tax-exempt status and its ability to enroll international students.

236.48 - 256.481 Kirk Carapazza

A Harvard spokesperson says the university is confident the appeals court will affirm Burroughs' ruling, which reinstated, quote, critical research funding that advances science and life-saving medical breakthroughs that strengthen national security and the country's global competitiveness. For NPR News, I'm Kirk Carrapeza in Boston.

256.501 - 278.831 Janine Hurst

The Justice Department has released some of the files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, this in the deadline set by the law President Trump signed last month. Existing home sales rose slightly last month from October as fewer homes hit the market. The National Association of Realtors says home sales rose 0.5 percent in November for a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.13 million homes.

279.351 - 296.967 Janine Hurst

Housing inventory, though, which had been rising for most of the year, dropped 5.9 percent in November from the month before. And the median price of a home was higher at $409,200, with a hike of 1.2 percent year over year. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.

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Thank you.

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