NPR News Now – December 24, 2025, 10PM EST

Host: Giles Snyder
Date: December 25, 2025
Duration: ~5 minutes

Episode Overview

This concise NPR News Now episode provides a rapid-fire update on the most significant news headlines from December 24, 2025. The reporting covers severe weather in California, new developments in the Jeffrey Epstein case, a lawsuit over transgender care, ADHD drug research, international election results, the Pope’s Christmas Eve Mass, and a snapshot of the financial markets.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. California Storm & State of Emergency

• Timestamps: 00:14–01:04
• Details:
  • California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles as a powerful holiday storm impacts Southern California.
  • Special concern is for regions recently scarred by wildfires, now susceptible to dangerous debris flows due to compromised vegetation and altered soil.
• Expert Insight:
  • Kavish Harjai explains the risks:

    “With any storm in this area, burn scar areas are of concern...water isn't absorbed by that burned land as it usually might be. And so that creates dangerous runoff conditions for the land below and makes those burn scar areas susceptible to debris flows.”
    (Kavish Harjai, 00:38)

2. Jeffrey Epstein Documents & Political Reaction

• Timestamps: 01:04–01:44
• Details:
  • Over a million documents potentially connected to the Jeffrey Epstein case have surfaced.
  • DOJ requests more time for review; the law required a full release by last week.
  • Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer calls this "...a Christmas Eve news dump."

3. Lawsuit Over National Ban on Transgender Care for Youth

• Timestamps: 01:44–02:27
• Details:
  • Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proposes a policy barring federal funds to providers of gender-affirming care for youth, stating such care is "neither safe nor effective."
  • A coalition of 19 states and D.C., led by New York, sues to block the policy.
  • Notable Quote:

    “Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online.”
    (Letitia James, New York Attorney General, cited by Selena Simmons Duffin, 02:17)

4. New ADHD Drug Research

• Timestamps: 02:27–03:13
• Details:
  • New findings published in Cell indicate ADHD medications like Ritalin and Adderall may not work as previously believed.
  • Dr. Benjamin Kay (Washington University, St. Louis) reveals drugs affect areas associated with alertness and motivation, not attention, as expected.
  • Memorable Explanation:

    “What I actually found was that those were the parts of the brain that were least affected.”
    (Dr. Benjamin Kay, as reported by John Hamill Hamilton, 02:53)
    “Instead, the drugs acted on areas that modulate alertness and motivation...making them less sleepy and more interested in doing mundane tasks like homework.”
    (John Hamill Hamilton, 02:57)

5. Honduran Election Result

• Timestamps: 03:13–03:53
• Details:
  • Pro-Trump candidate Nasir Yasfura declared winner after a turbulent and delayed election process.
  • U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urges respect for results and a peaceful transition.

6. Pope Leo’s First Christmas Eve Mass

• Timestamps: 03:53–04:37
• Details:
  • Pope Leo, the first American pope, uses his Christmas Eve sermon to emphasize care for immigrants and the poor, aligning with his broader papal theme and directly critiquing U.S. immigration policies.
  • He appeals for global peace, calling for temporary ceasefires over Christmas.
  • Notable Quote:

    “…there is, quote, no room for God if there’s no room for the human person. To refuse one is to refuse the other.”
    (Pope Leo, as reported by Ruth Sherlock, 03:53)

7. Financial Markets

• Timestamps: 04:37–04:53
• Details:
  • U.S. stock markets close higher in shortened holiday trading.
  • S&P 500 up by 0.3%, closing at 6,932.

Memorable Quotes & Speaker Attribution

• Kavish Harjai (00:38):

  “With any storm in this area, burn scar areas are of concern. So these are portions of land where, because of wildfires, vegetation has been removed and the nature of the soil has changed. And as a result, water isn't absorbed by that burned land as it usually might be…”

• Letitia James via Selena Simmons Duffin (02:17):

  “Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online.”

• Dr. Benjamin Kay via John Hamill Hamilton (02:53):

  “What I actually found was that those were the parts of the brain that were least affected.”

• Pope Leo via Ruth Sherlock (03:53):

  “...no room for God if there's no room for the human person. To refuse one is to refuse the other.”

Timeline of Important Segments

| Segment | Start Time | |--------------------------------------------|------------| | California storm & LA state of emergency | 00:14 | | Epstein case documents & reaction | 01:04 | | Transgender care lawsuit | 01:44 | | ADHD drug research findings | 02:27 | | Honduras election & U.S. statement | 03:13 | | Pope Leo’s first Christmas Mass | 03:53 | | Financial news | 04:37 |

Summary:
This episode succinctly delivers urgent weather news, sheds light on political and legal developments, highlights cutting-edge health science, and shares voices advocating for compassion on the global stage—all in NPR’s brisk, authoritative style.