Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Janine Herbst.
Chapter 2: What military actions has President Trump ordered against ISIS in Nigeria?
President Trump says he ordered numerous military strikes on ISIS targets in northwest Nigeria. Today, he's saying on social media the militants have been targeting and killing Christians. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says on social media that killing of Christians has to end and says... He's grateful for Nigerian government support and cooperation.
But in the past, Nigeria's government has said Trump's portrayal of the security situation is misleading and that all religions have suffered at the hands of ISIS and other groups.
Chapter 3: What are the implications of the Israeli hostage situation in Gaza?
Last night, a blast at a mosque in northeast Nigeria left at least five people dead. The body of the last Israeli hostage in Gaza hasn't yet been found, raising questions on whether Israel will be able to move to the second phase of the ceasefire deal that President Trump is pushing for. Empire's Aya Batraoui has more.
The mother of slain Israeli police officer Ran Gavili says she will travel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.S.
Chapter 4: How did Pope Leo's Christmas Day message address global suffering?
next week for his meeting with President Trump to ensure that there will be no advancement to the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza until her son's body is returned.
A Hamas official who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing search says the group has no leads on where the body might be, despite continuing to search among mounds of rubble from Israeli airstrikes where thousands of Palestinian bodies also remain trapped and unretrieved.
A delegation of Israeli security officials met with Egyptian mediators in Cairo this week to discuss the search. Meanwhile, Israel's defense minister said for the second time this week that Israeli troops will remain in north Gaza as a precursor to Jewish settlements there, in contradiction to Trump's ceasefire plan signed by Israel.
Pope Leo celebrated a Christmas Day Mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican today.
Chapter 5: What weather challenges are affecting Southern California this Christmas?
He's the first pontiff to do so in more than 30 years. Empire's Ruth Sherlock reports, Leo urged the faithful to care for those in the world who are suffering.
During the Mass, Pope Leo blessed the faithful. In this first Christmas Day message, he highlighted the plight of those caught in war in Gaza and of refugees and the displaced.
He spoke of young people conscripted into militaries who, quote, "...on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths."
He said peace is possible and urged people not to remain cold to people's suffering because, he said, when the fragility of others penetrates our hearts, when their pain shatters our rigid certainties, then peace has already begun.
Chapter 6: Which Christmas movies are currently topping the charts and why?
Ruth Sherlock, NPR News.
Wall Street was closed today in observance of the Christmas holiday. U.S. futures contracts are trading slightly higher at this hour. Dow futures are up nearly one-tenth of a percent. You're listening to NPR News. In Southern California, there's another powerful storm system that could cause more flooding and mudslides moving across that part of the state.
The National Weather Service says the region could have its wettest Christmas in years, increasing the risk of debris flows into denuded areas scorched by wildfires last January. People living around the burn scar zones from the airport fire in Orange County were under evacuation orders, although they have now been lifted, and heavy rains and winds are blamed for at least two deaths last night.
The most popular Christmas movie on broadcast and streaming TV is Home Alone. And Piers Netta-Uleby reports the movie from 1990 has been the top-ranked film by Nielsen for three out of the past four Decembers.
Home Alone takes place over Christmas. It's about a little boy left behind when his family goes on vacation. It's been the most watched holiday movie every December since 2021, except for last year when the prime video movie Red One took the top spot. The action movie stars Dwayne Johnson as head of Santa's security detail.
Other recent top-ranked Christmas movies include Elf, Home Alone 2, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The movie A Christmas Story benefits from a 24-hour marathon that runs on TBS and TNT. And although there's debate about whether Die Hard is really a Christmas movie, Nielsen says last year it landed on the holiday list at number 11. Netta Ulibi, NPR News.
And I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.
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