NPR News: 12-23-2025 10AM EST
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How did the U.S. economy perform in the third quarter of 2025?
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The Commerce Department says the U.S. economy grew much faster than expected in the third quarter, at an annual rate of 4.3 percent. NPR's Alina Selyuk reports the figures are nearly two months behind schedule because of the government shutdown.
Between July and September, the report shows the U.S. economy growing at a robust pace, accelerating from the growth seen in the previous quarter. Earlier in the year, the economy had actually shrunk as companies rushed to ship foreign goods ahead of President Trump's global tariffs. Consumers remain the key engine driving the growth with higher spending, especially on health care. The report calls out spending on hospital and nursing home services and on prescription drugs. People also spent more on, quote, information processing equipment. That could be computer hardware, presumably as part of the AI boom. At the same time, business and residential investment declined in the third quarter. Spending by state and local governments increased.
Alina Seljuk, NPR News, Washington.
What impact has the Trump administration had on immigration status?
More than 1.6 million immigrants have lost their legal status since President Trump took office. This is the largest effort to make migrants deportable despite using legal pathways. NPR Sergio Martinez Beltran reports.
Immigration rights advocates say this figure, 1.6 million people, is likely an undercount, but it includes people who came to the U.S. via humanitarian parole, temporary protected status, and visas. Todd Schulte is the president of Forward.us, an immigration advocacy organization.
These were like legal pathways. People like did the thing the government asked them to do. And this government went and is kind of preemptively trying to revoke that status.
The Trump administration has said it has done more to limit legal and illegal immigration than any other administration. It has said it will continue its aggressive effort to crack down on immigration in 2026. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News, Austin.
Russian missile and drone strikes in multiple regions of Ukraine have killed at least three people. NPR's Hanna Palomarenko reports from Kiev that Russians have again attacked Ukraine's energy facilities.
Ukraine's acting minister of energy, Artem Nikrasov, said that this is the ninth massive attack on Ukraine's energy sector this year.
How are Russian attacks affecting Ukraine's energy infrastructure?
As a result of the attack, all Ukrainian nuclear power plants have reduced their electricity generation. This is a gross violation of international nuclear safety requirements, and it should not be ignored by the international community. Russia's policy of energy terrorism must be stopped, he said. As a result of the attack, several western regions are almost completely without power. Emergency power outages continue throughout the country. Hanna Polomarenko, NPR News, Kyiv.
On Wall Street, the Dow was down 31 points. This is NPR News in Washington. The Delaware Supreme Court is returning money to tech billionaire Elon Musk. A judge found a lower court had overstepped in rescinding a pay package that was once worth $55 billion and is now worth more than twice that. NPR's Camilla Dominovsky reports.
A Delaware court previously found that the Tesla board let Musk have too much influence over his own paycheck. The state Supreme Court didn't overturn that finding, but the justices said voiding Musk's entire pay package wasn't a fair remedy. Musk couldn't take back the years of work he did. Instead, they awarded a nominal $1 to the plaintiff who brought the case, plus attorney's fees.
What recent developments have occurred in Elon Musk's legal battles?
In response to the decision, Elon Musk posted on X, vindicated. And also, quote, I try not to start fights, but I do finish them. Forbes estimates that after the decision, Elon Musk's net worth is now a record $749 billion.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
How did the U.S. economy perform in the third quarter of 2025?
0:00–1:19
2
What impact has the Trump administration had on immigration status?
1:19–2:37
3
How are Russian attacks affecting Ukraine's energy infrastructure?
2:37–3:59
4
What recent developments have occurred in Elon Musk's legal battles?
3:59–4:25
5
What are the implications of the new oral weight loss drug, Wegovy?
4:25–4:50
6
How did Wall Street react to recent economic news?
4:50–4:56