NPR News Now – December 22, 2025, 9AM EST

Host: Windsor Johnston
Episode Theme:
A concise update on the latest U.S. and global news, with segments covering political divisions in the Republican Party, changes in Vatican leadership, a pulled investigative TV segment, a national clock drift due to a power outage, and severe weather warnings.

Key Stories & Discussion Points

1. Turning Point USA Annual Conference Exposes GOP Divisions

[00:16–01:19]

• Event: Turning Point USA’s annual gathering concluded, the largest since founder Charlie Kirk's assassination.
• Main Issue: The event highlighted ongoing fractures within the Republican Party and the MAGA movement.
• Notable Moment:
  • Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro criticized Tucker Carlson's recent interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes.
  • Shapiro pointed out that Fuentes, who has praised Hitler, is not supported by Kirk and shouldn't be amplified.
• Speaker Insight:
  • Elena Moore: “There was this really notable moment on the first night when conservative commentator Ben Shapiro criticized a bunch of right wing media personalities, including Tucker Carlson, for his recent interview with the white nationalist Nick Fuentes. And that's someone who's praised Hitler and someone that Kirk himself didn't support.” [00:44]
• Takeaway: The conference revealed sharp debate over which voices should lead and represent the MAGA movement.

2. Tracking of Oil Tanker Violating Sanctions on Venezuela

[01:19–01:32]

• Development: U.S. authorities are monitoring another oil tanker suspected of violating existing sanctions on Venezuela.
• Details: The ship is reportedly operating under a judicial seizure order.

3. Pope Leo’s First Christmas Address: Continuity with Pope Francis

[01:32–02:38]

• New Pope: Pope Leo delivered his inaugural Christmas address to Vatican cardinals.
• Tone & Message: Leo praised Pope Francis for his “prophetic voice, pastoral style, and rich teachings,” vowing to continue a focus on mercy and inclusion.
• Contrast:
  • Pope Francis was known for sharp critiques of cardinals; Leo's approach is noted as “much gentler,” cautioning against rigidity or ideology.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Pope Leo (via Ruth Sherlock): “His prophetic voice, his pastoral style and his rich teachings have defined the path of the church in these years... encouraging us to place God’s mercy at the centre.” [01:52]
  • Ruth Sherlock: "Leo, who is more diplomatic, was much gentler. He warned officials only not to allow rigidity or ideology to slow progress for the church." [02:29]

4. CBS News Segment Pulled Over Editorial Disagreement

[02:38–03:31]

• Incident: A “60 Minutes” report on alleged abuse at a Salvadoran prison housing Venezuelan migrants (sent by the Trump administration) was pulled before airing.
• Reason: CBS’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, insisted on an on-the-record White House response before broadcasting.
• Correspondent’s Response: She sought White House comment but received no reply and suggested the segment’s removal was political, not editorial, in nature.

5. National U.S. Clock Drift Caused by Colorado Storm

[03:31–04:19]

• Event: Power outage at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, CO, led to a rare 4.8 microsecond drift in the official U.S. time.
• Cause: Primary and backup power failures disrupted coordination with atomic clocks.
• Impact:
  • Most people wouldn’t notice, but there could be effects for "critical infrastructure, telecommunications, and more."
• Contextual Quote:
  • Joe Hernandez: “For reference, it takes a person about 350,000 microseconds to blink.” [03:42]
• Status: Power restored, crews working to fix the error.

6. Severe Weather Warnings in California

[04:19–04:41]

• Alert: Flood watches issued due to multiple atmospheric rivers forecast to bring heavy rain and potential flash flooding across Northern California.
• Details:
  • Redding and Sacramento might see 4–6 inches of rain over the coming days.

7. Financial Market Update

[04:41–04:56]

• Asia: Stock markets saw gains.
• Wall Street: Dow futures were trading higher at the time of broadcast.

Notable Quotes and Highlights

• On internal GOP tensions:

  • Elena Moore [00:44]: “This conference highlighted a pretty large debate within the MAGA movement about which kinds of voices are being amplified.”

• On the Vatican’s direction:

  • Pope Leo (via Ruth Sherlock) [01:52]: “Encouraging us to place God’s mercy at the centre.”

• On the NIST outage:

  • Joe Hernandez [03:42]: “For reference, it takes a person about 350,000 microseconds to blink.”

Timestamps Overview

• 00:16 — Turning Point USA conference and GOP divisions
• 01:19 — Oil tanker sanctions enforcement
• 01:32 — Pope Leo’s first Christmas address
• 02:38 — CBS report on Salvadoran prison abuse pulled
• 03:31 — Colorado power outage impacts US official time
• 04:19 — California flood watches
• 04:41 — Market update

This episode delivers a brisk, factual snapshot of significant U.S. and global events as of December 22, 2025, with particular attention to political division, religious leadership, media independence, science infrastructure, and weather hazards.