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NPR News Now

NPR News: 12-29-2025 12AM EST

29 Dec 2025

Transcription

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

0.098 - 14.007 Eric and Wendy Schmidt

Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theschmidt.org.

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15.843 - 28.219 Dale Willman

Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home Sunday to discuss a revised 20-point peace plan for the war in Russia.

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28.419 - 35.809 Unknown

Trump said the two leaders made progress today, but they need more time. Most importantly, Zelensky said he was optimistic about security guarantees.

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35.789 - 47.876 Volodymyr Zelensky

We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework, which includes, and we have great achievements, 20-point peace plan, 90% agreed, and U.S.-Ukraine security guarantees, 100% agreed.

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48.277 - 53.629 Unknown

And Zelensky says he plans to meet with Trump again in the new year to finish this 20-point plan.

53.795 - 74.847 Dale Willman

That's NPR's Luke Garrett. Before the two met, Trump said he had a two and a half hour phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He said that discussion was very productive, and he insisted that Putin wants peace, even as Moscow continues to launch deadly strikes at Ukraine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, is now on his way to the U.S.

74.867 - 83.818 Dale Willman

to meet President Trump in Florida on Monday. He's planning to raise Israel's concerns about Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. NPR's Michelle Kellerman has more.

84.118 - 98.955 Michelle Kellerman

Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza is still in phase one. The president has yet to name his so-called Board of Peace for Gaza, and there's still no international force there. Israel has set up a yellow line in the territory controlling one side,

Chapter 2: What recent developments occurred in the Ukraine peace talks?

98.935 - 116.793 Michelle Kellerman

and continuing to carry out strikes on the other. Netanyahu has said the peace plan can't move to the next phase until Hamas returns the body of the last Israeli hostage, though Hamas says everyone who knew where that body was has been killed. Gaza isn't the only thing on Netanyahu's agenda.

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116.973 - 129.19 Michelle Kellerman

Israeli officials say that Iran is building up its arsenal of ballistic missiles, months after Trump ordered massive strikes on nuclear sites in Iran. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, Jerusalem.

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130.092 - 144.805 Dale Willman

An intense cyclone storm is expected to dump heavy snow from the upper Midwest to the Great Lakes as people head home following the Christmas holidays. That's according to the National Weather Service. NPR's Frank Lankford has more on our story.

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144.869 - 164.413 Frank Lankford

The Weather Service forecasts more than a foot of snow across parts of the Upper Great Lakes and as much as two feet along the southern shore of Lake Superior. As of Sunday afternoon, nearly 180 flights, or more than half, were delayed at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Nearly three-quarters were delayed at Minneapolis-St. Paul International.

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164.393 - 186.274 Frank Lankford

The Transportation Security Administration expects Sunday to be the heaviest travel day of the holiday season, with nearly 2.9 million people in transit across the nation. The winter storm is expected to continue to move east, with freezing rain forecast for the interior of the Northeast later Sunday. A mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain is projected for northern New England by Monday morning.

186.975 - 188.877 Frank Lankford

Frank Lankford, NPR News.

189.918 - 212.686 Dale Willman

I'm Dale Willman, and you're listening to NPR News. Preliminary results of a snap parliamentary election in Kosovo show that the party of the country's prime minister has won by a clear margin. The Self-Determination Party won almost 50 percent of the votes, while the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo was in second with 21 percent.

213.207 - 231.864 Dale Willman

State election authorities say around 44 percent of those eligible to vote did so. 2025 will go down as a year of chaos for anti-poverty groups in the country. As NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports, they've had to scramble to keep operating as the Trump administration targeted a string of safety net programs.

231.884 - 250.667 Jennifer Ludden

The turmoil started in January with a presidential order to freeze all funding. Then came a string of budget cuts, pauses, and some reversals. Kelly Haddis at community action group HapCap in Ohio said, says the biggest challenge is uncertainty. The panic and the day-to-day not knowing is just really difficult.

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