NPR News: 12-20-2025 1AM EST
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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman.
What are the latest updates on the Jeffrey Epstein files?
Some members of Congress are criticizing the Department of Justice for only a partial release of the Jeffrey Epstein files on Friday. A law had required a complete release. Democratic Congresswoman Teresa Olegra Fernandez of New Mexico says it's important to have those documents released.
We should not live in an America where pedophiles, sex traffickers, and those who would demean women and use them as sexual objects can go without accountability.
Fernandez calls the partial release of the files shameful. President Trump took his economic message on the road Friday, visiting Rocky Mount, North Carolina. As NPR's Deepa Shivram reports, his remarks come as his administration is facing precarious polling.
Trump is facing pushback from voters who aren't happy with his economic agenda. An NPR-PBS News Marist poll from this week showed just 36 percent approve of his handling of the economy. But in North Carolina, Trump mocked the term affordability and once again blamed Democrats for high costs.
You talk about affordability, you know, the Democrats, they're the ones that got us into the mess. They're the ones that caused the high prices.
The president spoke about 90 minutes in a long-winded campaign-style rally speech that included attacks on Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was once an ally to Trump, who now says Greene is a fake. Deepa Shivaram, NPR News.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says rebuilding Gaza is a, quote, long-term project and some of it will take years to complete. But he says the administration is planning to announce a board of peace soon and try to get an international force into Gaza. NPR's Michelle Kellerman has more on the story.
In a wide-ranging end-of-year news conference, Secretary Rubio says he feels generally optimistic about the diplomacy on Gaza. He says the immediate goals are to set up a technocratic Palestinian government and a board of peace chaired by President Trump, as well as an international stabilization force. He says disarming Hamas will be key. If Hamas is ever in a position in the future that they can threaten or attack Israel, you're not going to have peace. You're not going to convince anyone to invest money in Gaza if they believe another war is going to happen in two to three years. Rubio wouldn't get into details about negotiations, nor did he criticize continued deadly Israeli strikes in Gaza.
Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.
Stocks gained ground before the close on Friday. It was the second day of gains for the market, and it wiped out the losses from earlier in the week. Tech stocks were the major drivers, with both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closing out the week with gains. The S&P 500 rose 59 points, or nine-tenths of a percent, while the Nasdaq finished up 301 points. The Dow finished up 183 points. You're listening to NPR News. Four soldiers were killed and at least 15 civilians were injured Friday when a suicide bomber and three gunmen attacked a military post in northern Pakistan. The bomb's explosion caused nearby homes to collapse, injuring a number of civilians. Pakistan's military says the attackers were killed during an ensuing gun battle.
The Trump administration has launched military strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria. Officials say the strikes are in response for the recent ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and a civilian interpreter. The administration says 70 targets have been hit, and they include Islamic State infrastructure, including weapons caches. Donuts have been part of holiday celebrations across various traditions, and as NPR's Chloe Valpin reports, donut makers are seizing the opportunity.
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