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Wicked was a smash hit that earned Oscar nominations for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, but that was only the first half of the story. Wicked for Good is every bit as splashy as the first installment, but can it match the impact of its predecessor and live up to the hype? Listen to pop culture Happy hour in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Two National Guard members from West Virginia are in critical condition this afternoon after being shot several blocks from the White House. They were part of a contingent deployed to Washington, D.C. by President Trump this summer. A suspect is in custody and was also shot FBI Director Cash Patel.
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This will be treated at the federal level as an assault on a federal law enforcement officer. The FBI will lead out on that mission with our interagency partners to include the Department of Homeland Security, Secret Service, atf, dea, and we're thankful for the mayor's assistance in this matter.
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D.C. police say they believe the shooter targeted the Guard members. The White House was briefly placed in lockdown after the shooting occurred. President Trump has updated his original 28 point plan to end the war in Ukraine. As NPR's Franco Ordonez reports, Trump says there are now only a few remaining points of disagreements.
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President Trump says he's dispatching his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Moscow to meet with President Putin, while sending Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to meet with the Ukrainians to work out the final details. It's just the latest iteration of yo yoing proposal that Trump has presented as he tries to cement his peacemaking legacy. Ivo daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, says all Trump wants is a deal.
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He doesn't care what the terms of the deal are. He just wants it to end and to be seen as the person who ended it.
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But Dalder says the problem is that while the US Agreed to plans with both Russia and Ukraine, Russia and Ukraine have not reached an agreement on any plans with each other. Franco Ordonez, NPR News.
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A judge in Georgia has dismissed the state's election interference case against President Trump and several other people. That move ends the last at attempt to prosecute Trump over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. Six Democrats in Congress say they're being investigated by the FBI after they made a video telling members of the military that they can refuse illegal orders. President Trump called the message seditious behavior punishable by death. NPR's Sam Greenglass has more.
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The White House later said the president was not suggesting the six Democrats be killed, but the Trump administration has taken steps to potentially punish the group. The Pentagon launched an investig into Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and now all six say the FBI has requested interviews. Senator Alyssa Slotkin of Michigan told reporters on Tuesday that Trump is attempting to stifle criticism, including over the president's moves to strike alleged drug boats and dispatch troops in US Cities.
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This is a scare tactic by him. He is attempting to use the FBI to scare us out of continuing to talk.
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The FBI and the Justice Department declined to comment. Sam Greenglass, NPR News, Washington.
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All major indices closed up on Wall street today. The Dow Jones Industrials gained 314 points. The S&P 500 gained 46 points. This is NPR News. Many lightning strikes created by whirling dust devils have been detected by a rover on Mars. As NPR's Nell Greenfield Boyce reports, scientists had long suspected that the the red planet might have some form of lightning.
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But it's been elusive since the 1970s. Scientists have thought that swirling dust on Mars might produce some kind of electrical discharge. Like on Earth, clouds of turbulent volcanic ash can create lightning. Now in the journal Nature, a team says that in windy conditions, a microphone on NASA's Perseverance rover sometimes did more than just hear wind dozens of times. It registered a distinctive pattern of electrical interference followed by the acoustic signal of a shock wave. They say this had to have been from electrical arcs just a few centimeters long. They want to learn more about this electrical activity to understand what risks, if any, it might pose to future human or robotic missions. Nell Greenfield Boyce, NPR News.
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Israel handed over the bodies of 15 Palestinians today. The exchange came one day after Hamas returned the remains of an Israeli hostage. The exchanges are part of the ceasefire that went into effect last month. The the remains of two hostages held by Hamas are still to be returned. Hamas says their recovery has been slowed by the destruction to Gaza during the war with Israel. A court in Peru has sentenced former President Martin Vizcarra to 14 years in prison. Vizcarra had been found guilty of corruption for accepting bribes when he was governor of a Peruvian state. He was sent to prison immediately after the sentencing. He is also barred from holding public office for nine years. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News.
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This episode of NPR News Now delivers a concise roundup of major national and international headlines as of late November 26th, 2025. Major stories include a shooting of National Guard members in D.C., President Trump’s new diplomatic maneuvers on Ukraine, dismissal of an election interference case, FBI investigations into Congressional Democrats, new scientific findings about lightning on Mars, updates from the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, and the sentencing of Peru’s former president for corruption.
Notable Quote:
"This will be treated at the federal level as an assault on a federal law enforcement officer. The FBI will lead out on that mission with our interagency partners..."
— FBI Director Cash Patel [00:40]
Notable Quotes:
"All Trump wants is a deal. He doesn't care what the terms of the deal are. He just wants it to end and to be seen as the person who ended it."
— Ivo Daalder, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO [01:38]
Notable Quote:
"This is a scare tactic by him. He is attempting to use the FBI to scare us out of continuing to talk."
— Senator Alyssa Slotkin [02:55]
Notable Quote:
"...a microphone on NASA's Perseverance rover sometimes did more than just hear wind dozens of times. It registered a distinctive pattern of electrical interference followed by the acoustic signal of a shock wave."
— Nell Greenfield Boyce [03:34]
The tone throughout is urgent, fact-based, and polished, reflecting NPR’s standard delivery. Direct quotes preserve the gravity of political developments and the excitement of scientific discovery.
For listeners seeking in-depth understanding, this episode provides a snapshot of fast-moving global events, U.S. politics, and scientific breakthroughs, delivered with the clarity and authority of NPR News.