ICE is reopening shuttered prisons as detention centers. Many have a troubled past

In its push for more immigrant detention space, the Trump administration is reopening shuttered prisons in several states. Many of these facilities, closed amid allegations of abuse and mismanagement.

NPR NewsDec 18, 2025, 9:43 AM

ICE is reopening shuttered prisons as detention centers. Many have a troubled past

Activists rallied at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Mich., after it reopened as an immigrant detention center this year. In its past, the facility had been a federal prison and a juvenile detention facility.

(Image credit: Jim West)

NPR NewsDec 18, 2025, 9:42 AM

Venezuelans brace for hardship as Trump threatens oil blockade

People walk past a mural depicting former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez alongside Venezuelan independence heroes in Caracas on Dec.17, 2025.

After years of shortages and economic collapse, Venezuelans face fresh uncertainty as Trump threatens an oil blockade — but many say they're too exhausted to do anything but endure.

(Image credit: JUAN BARRETO)

NPR NewsDec 18, 2025, 7:44 AM

Mourners grieve 10-year-old slain in Bondi mass shooting as Australia's leader pledges new hate laws

Family carry the coffin following a service for Bondi Beach mass shooting victim 10-year-old Matilda, whose last name is being withheld at the request of her family, in Sydney, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025.

Hundreds of mourners bearing bright bouquets and clutching each other in grief gathered at a funeral in Sydney on Thursday for a 10-year-old girl who was gunned down in an antisemitic massacre during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach.

(Image credit: Steven Markham)

NPR NewsDec 18, 2025, 7:25 AM

US announces massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion

President Donald Trump speaks during an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Washington.

The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, a move that is sure to infuriate China.

(Image credit: Doug Mills)

NPR NewsDec 18, 2025, 6:44 AM

Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent Peter Arnett has died

Associated Press correspondent Peter Arnett, left, marches with Vietnamese troops in Vietnam, Nov. 11, 1965.

Peter Arnett, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who spent decades dodging bullets and bombs to bring the world eyewitness accounts of war from Vietnam to Iraq, has died. He was 91.

(Image credit: AP)

NPR NewsDec 18, 2025, 12:06 AM

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says he will step down in January

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino speaks during a news conference on an arrest of a suspect in the January 6th pipe bomb case at the Department of Justice on Dec. 4, 2025.

Bongino's tenure was at times tumultuous, including a clash with Justice Department leadership over the Epstein files. But it also involved the arrest of a suspect in the Jan. 6 pipe bomber case.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 8:42 PM

Federal court says troops can stay in D.C., and hints at prolonged deployment

Members of the National Guard patrol along Constitution Ave. on December 01, 2025 in Washington, DC.

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. has ruled that National Guard troops can remain in the city for now. That decision comes after a different federal appeals court ruled that troops must leave Los Angeles earlier this week.

(Image credit: Heather Diehl)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 8:10 PM

Jack Smith defends his prosecutions of Trump in closed-door session in Congress

Special Counsel Jack Smith, seen here in August 2023, defended his work to House members Wednesday.

The former Justice Department special counsel told the House Judiciary Committee that his team developed "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" that Trump took part in a criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election.

(Image credit: Drew Angerer)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 8:05 PM

A Chinese man who filmed secret footage in Xinjiang risks deportation from the U.S.

A screenshot from a 2021 video taken by Guan Heng shows what he said was a detention center in the Xinjiang region of China.

Guan Heng sailed to the U.S. by boat from the Bahamas after publishing footage he filmed of purported detention camps in China. He has been held in immigration detention since August.

(Image credit: Guan Heng)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 7:24 PM

Trump to address the nation as his popularity dips in the face of economic concerns

U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a roundtable discussion at the White House.

The year-end speech will address his accomplishments so far and look ahead to next year

(Image credit: Alex Wong)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 7:07 PM

A photographer discovers miles of dinosaur tracks near Italy's Winter Olympic venues

One of the Alpine rock faces in northern Italy covered in dinosaur tracks, believed to be 210 million years old.

A nature photographer stumbled upon thousands of 210-million-year-old dinosaur tracks in Italy's central Alps, near where some Olympic skiing and snowboarding events will be held in February.

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 6:28 PM

Senate passes $901 billion defense bill that pushes Hegseth for boat strike video

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives to brief members of Congress on military strikes near Venezuela on Tuesday at the Capitol in Washington.

The Senate has given final passage to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which raises troop pay by 3.8%. It also pressures Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats near Venezuela.

(Image credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 6:19 PM

Why I volunteered to be infected with dengue fever

Early in the pandemic, a volunteer takes part in a clinical trial to develop a vaccine that will protect against COVID-19. The U.S. government has registered over half a million clinical trials since 2000. The vast majority of the trials don

The U.S. has registered over half a million clinical trials since 2000. Here's a look at the business and ethics of human medical experimentation through the eyes of a volunteer.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 5:25 PM

'Vanity Fair' reporter gets an inside view from Susie Wiles, the woman behind Trump 2.0

Writer Chris Whipple interviewed Trump's chief of staff 11 times, getting her view on cabinet members, Trump's revenge tour, Venezuela policy, and why she says Trump has an "alcoholic's personality."

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 3:30 PM

More than 10% of Congress won't return to their seats after 2026

The U.S. Capitol is seen during a procedural vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July in Washington, DC.

NPR is tracking the record number of congressional lawmakers – now more than one in ten current members – who have announced plans to retire or run for a different office in 2026.

(Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 2:49 PM

Greetings from Chiloé Island, Chile, where the fast-moving tides are part of local lore

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Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 12:11 PM

Trump's economic approval at new low. And, Congress set to let ACA subsidies expire

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) discusses rising health insurance premiums as U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) (L) and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) look on during a press conference in the U.S. Capitol Building on Dec. 10, 2025, in Washington, DC.

A new NPR poll finds that President Trump's economic approval has hit a new low at 36%. And, Congress has two days to take action on health care subsidies.

(Image credit: Heather Diehl)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 11:39 AM

GOP House Rep. says it's 'unacceptable' to allow ACA subsidies to expire

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY, speaks to reporters as he arrives for a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 15 in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Mike Lawler says House Speaker Mike Johnson is correct in saying the health care system isn't working, but allowing ACA subsidies to expire without a plan to address rising costs is "idiotic."

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 11:00 AM

Trump's BBC lawsuit: A botched report, BritBox, and porn

Journalists report outside BBC Broadcasting House in London. In a new lawsuit, President Trump is seeking $10 billion from the BBC for defamation.

President Trump's lawsuit alleges that the BBC's fall 2024 documentary was "a brazen attempt" to harm his re-election. The BBC has apologized but rejects his claim.

(Image credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 10:01 AM

Recent attacks have been 'inspired' by Islamic State. What does that mean?

A member of the Iraqi forces walks past a mural bearing the logo of the Islamic State group in a tunnel that was reportedly used as a training center by the jihadists, on March 1, 2017, in the village of Albu Sayf, on the southern outskirts of Mosul.

A decade ago, the self-proclaimed Islamic State group held vast swaths of territory across Iraq and Syria, but President Trump declared it destroyed in 2019.

(Image credit: Ahmad al-Rubaye)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 10:00 AM

Is the viral cheese pull saving chain restaurants?

Images from Karissa Dumbacher

For restaurants, going viral is appetizing. But at what cost?

(Image credit: @karissaeats via TikTok)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 10:00 AM

Trump's rush to build nuclear reactors across the U.S. raises safety worries

The Experimental Breeder Reactor II at Idaho National Laboratory. Several companies are now pursuing experimental reactor designs in the hopes of upending the nuclear power industry.

A new program at the Department of Energy is pushing the development of nearly a dozen new reactor designs at breakneck speed.

(Image credit: Idaho National Laboratory)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 10:00 AM

Trump's economic approval hits a new low at 36%, poll finds

President Trump is pictured in the Oval Office on Monday.

A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds 70% of Americans say things have become too unaffordable and have a dim outlook on the economy and President Trump's handling of it.

(Image credit: Anna Moneymaker)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 10:00 AM

From bird droppings to holiday kisses: How we ended up under the mistletoe

A soldier leaving a London railway station to join his unit took along a sprig of mistletoe to make sure he got his Christmas kiss, Dec. 14, 1939.

The etymology of mistletoe — a plant with small, oval evergreen leaves and waxy white berries — may strike some as repugnant.

(Image credit: Gerry Cranham/Getty Images)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 10:00 AM

Thousands of guns are found at crime scenes. What do they tell us?

A law enforcement officer inspects a handgun at the scene of a shooting in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 2.

A report from the advocacy group Everytown For Gun Safety analyzed data from local police departments on nearly 350,000 guns used in crimes from 2020 to 2024, including where they came from.

(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 10:00 AM

How the long-running Obamacare fight came to thwart enhanced subsidies in Congress

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., meets with reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday as Republicans confront internal divisions over how to to address growing health care costs.

Congress is poised to leave for a scheduled holiday recess without a solution for addressing the expiration of enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.

(Image credit: J. Scott Applewhite)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 10:00 AM

Beware the Christmas coronary. How to spot signs of holiday heart trouble

Too much merry-making with rich foods and alcohol can strain the heart. So can stress over the holidays.

There's lots of data to show cardiac troubles spike during the holidays amid the mix of merrymaking, travel and stress. But there are ways to spot the signs of trouble before it's too late.

(Image credit: mgstudyo)

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 9:53 AM

U.S. Santas becoming more diverse as families look to see themselves in Christmas

Santas in the U.S. are getting more diverse as families try to find a jolly fella who looks more like them.

NPR NewsDec 17, 2025, 7:59 AM

Suspected gunman in Bondi Beach shooting charged with 15 counts of murder

Swimmers gather for a morning vigil in Sydney, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, following Sunday

A suspected gunman in Sydney's Bondi Beach massacre was charged with 59 offenses including 15 charges of murder on Wednesday, as hundreds of mourners gathered to begin funerals for the victims.

(Image credit: Mick Tsikas)