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Pages from the U.S. Affordable Care Act health insurance website healthcare.gov are seen on a computer screen in New York, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File)

Shots - Health News

Shopping for pricy ACA health plans? Some cheaper options come with trade-offs

KFF Health News

Without a fix from Congress, costs for many people who buy health care on the Affordable Care Act marketplace have gone up. Here's what's to know about cheaper choices — and pitfalls to be aware of.

Millions of soon-to-be uninsured Americans are looking for a 'plan B' WPLN News

An illustration of the U.S. Capitol with a grid overlaid on top and some of the segments in the grid are blacked out.

Law

Available to download Friday, some Epstein files no longer there Saturday afternoon

Epstein Library files disappear from DOJ site after initial release

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President Trump walks to speak with reporters while departing the White House on Friday.

The Justice Department released some of the Epstein files, including many previously public documents, related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's criminal charges and his death by suicide in federal custody.

Justice Department begins releasing Epstein files... What's next?

Jeffrey Epstein files: Tracing the legal cases that led to sex-trafficking charges

Picture This

Happy winter solstice! At last, we've made it to 'The Shortest Day'

Dec. 21 is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Susan Cooper, who wrote the solstice poem "The Shortest Day," collaborated with illustrator Carson Ellis on a new picture book. From the NPR archives.

Happy winter solstice! At last, we've made it to 'The Shortest Day'

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Irma Thomas; Big Freedia; Tarriona "Tank" Ball

Religion

New Orleans musicians share their favorite Christmas songs, from bounce to blues

Rosemary Westwood from member station WWNO asked a few of New Orlean's favorite musicians about the songs they like to listen to around Christmas.

New Orleans musicians share their favorite Christmas songs, from bounce to blues

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Bishop Ronald A. Hicks, the new Archbishop of New York, speaks at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Dec. 18.

Religion

New York has a new archbishop. His background looks a lot like Pope Leo's

Like Pope Leo, Bishop Ronald Hicks is an Illinois native with deep experience in Latin America.

New New York Archbishop

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Pope Leo XIV greets faithful as he arrives in St. Peter's Square on the occasion of the last Jubilee audience, at the Vatican, on Saturday.

Religion

Pope Leo summons cardinals for a key assembly to help him govern Catholic Church

Pope Leo XIV has summoned the world's cardinals for two days of meetings to help him govern the church, in the clearest sign yet that the new year will signal the unofficial start of his pontificate.

FILE - Russian Presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, left, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, center, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, foreground right, and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries Kirill Dmitriev, behind Witkoff, arrive to attend talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 2, 2025.

World

Russia says talks on US peace plan for Ukraine 'are proceeding constructively'

A Kremlin envoy says peace talks in Florida on a U.S.-proposed plan to end the war in Ukraine are proceeding constructively, after U.S. meetings with Ukrainian and European officials in Berlin.

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salute as carry teams move the transfer cases with the remains of Iowa National Guard soldiers Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, Iowa, and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, and civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat, who were killed in an attack in Syria, during a casualty return, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025 at Dover Air Force Base, Del.

National Security

U.S. launches strikes in Syria targeting Islamic State fighters after American deaths

The Trump administration launched military strikes in Syria to "eliminate" Islamic State group fighters in retaliation for an attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American interpreter a week ago.

South African police gather at the scene of a mass shooting where gunmen killed nine and injured at least 10 in a pub in Bekkersdal, South Africa, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.

World

9 killed, 10 wounded in South African pub shooting

Authorities report that nine people have died and at least 10 others are injured after a shooting at a South African pub. The incident occurred early Sunday in Bekkersdal, west of Johannesburg.

A poster seeking information about the campus shooting suspect is seen on the campus of Brown University on Dec. 17, 2025, in Providence, R.I.

National

A Reddit post helped find MIT and Brown shooting suspect. Here's what we know

Details are beginning to emerge about the life of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, the gunman who killed two and injured nine others in the attack at Brown University last week. He is also believed to have killed an MIT professor on Monday, police said.

Sports

What to watch for in this weekend's College Football Playoff first round

An unpredictable and exciting college football season is coming to a close. This weekend's first-round slate is set up for two tight games and two blowouts — but in the playoffs, anything goes.

College Football Playoffs kickoff Friday with Alabama and Oklahoma taking the field

Listen · 3:49 3:49

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John Lowery, a New Carolina state representative and chairman of the Lumbee Tribe (right) is comforted by Rob Jacobs, as they join with other members of the tribe to celebrate Wednesday on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., after the passage of a bill granting the tribe federal recognition.

National

North Carolina's Lumbee Tribe receives full federal recognition after 137-year effort

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has finally received full federal recognition, which it has sought since 1888. Tribal leaders were moved to tears after President Trump signed the measure.

A display at the Gender Health Program of Children's Minnesota hospital. Under a proposed rule announced Thursday, a hospital will lose all its Medicaid and Medicare funding if it continues to provide gender-affirming care for trans people under age 18.

Policy-ish

Trump's push to end transgender care for young people opposed by pediatricians

Doctors and children's hospitals say nothing in the evidence has changed to justify the Trump administration's efforts to ban gender-affirming care for teens and tweens.

RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz announce moves to ban gender-affirming care for young people

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Short Wave

Listen: GLP-1 pills are on the way. Here's what to know

Right now the medicines involve weekly injections — which can have a sticker price of over $1,000 a month, with hard-to-navigate insurance coverage. So there's a lot of excitement around a new pill form of the drugs.

GLP-1 Pills Are On The Way. Here's What To Know

Listen · 12:12 12:12

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Kris Kringle and the Jolly Jingles perform their Christmas extravaganza on Dec. 21, 2024, at the Heavy Anchor in St. Louis’ Bevo Mill neighborhood.

Kris Kringle and the Jolly Jingles bring holiday cheer to St. Louis with a new single

St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis has a long tradition of producing holiday music. Now a North Pole-themed rock band is adding its own festive mark.

Every year on Black Friday, Tacoma Self Storage becomes Tacoma Elf Storage.

Are Santa's elves stored along I-5 in Tacoma?

KNKX Public Radio

Now a harbinger of the South Sound's holiday season, the tradition of transforming from "Self Storage" to "Elf Storage" began one fateful day in 2007.

Col. Harry Shoup came to be known as the "Santa Colonel." He died in 2009.

Opinion

StoryCorps

NORAD's Santa Tracker began with a typo and a good sport

It all started in 1955 with a misprint in a Colorado newspaper and a call to Col. Harry Shoup's secret military hotline. Shoup played along with the tiny voice who called, and a tradition was born. From the NPR archives.

NORAD's Santa Tracker began with a typo and a good sport

Listen · 3:18 3:18

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WATCH

GIVĒON: Tiny Desk Concert
Sixpence None the Richer: Tiny Desk Concert
Odeal: Tiny Desk Concert
Sean Shibe: Tiny Desk Concert
Billy Strings: Tiny Desk Concert
Annie DiRusso: Tiny Desk Concert
Air: Tiny Desk Concert
Brandi Carlile: Tiny Desk Concert
David Byrne: Tiny Desk Concert
SEVENTEEN: Tiny Desk Concert
Robert Plant: Tiny Desk Concert
Goo Goo Dolls: Tiny Desk Concert
Ghost-Note: Tiny Desk Concert
Pulp: Tiny Desk Concert
Kris Davis Trio: Tiny Desk Concert
Nova Twins: Tiny Desk Concert
The Doobie Brothers: Tiny Desk Concert
Emily King: Tiny Desk Concert
clipping.: Tiny Desk Concert
Oklou: Tiny Desk Concert
The Beaches: Tiny Desk Concert
Asake: Tiny Desk Concert
Parcels: Tiny Desk Concert
Kokoroko: Tiny Desk Concert
Tame Impala: Tiny Desk Concert
Silvana Estrada: Tiny Desk Concert
Gloria Estefan: Tiny Desk Concert
Macario Martínez: Tiny Desk Concert
31 Minutos: Tiny Desk Concert
Rubio: Tiny Desk Concert
Adrian Quesada: Tiny Desk Concert
Chuwi: Tiny Desk Concert
Carlos Vives: Tiny Desk Concert
Lido Pimienta: Tiny Desk Concert
Luiza Brina: Tiny Desk Concert
Fito Páez: Tiny Desk Concert
Turnstile: Tiny Desk Concert
Ed Sheeran: Tiny Desk Concert
Michael Mayo: Tiny Desk Concert
PinkPantheress: Tiny Desk Concert
Mustafa: Tiny Desk Concert
The All-American Rejects: Field Recordings x Aspen Ideas Festival
Lucius: Field Recordings x Aspen Ideas Festival
MILCK: Field Recordings x Aspen Ideas Festival
Daymé Arocena: Field Recordings x Aspen Ideas Festival
John Oates: Field Recordings x Aspen Ideas Festival
Ty Segall: Tiny Desk Concert
Guster: Tiny Desk Concert

GIVĒON: Tiny Desk Concert

GIVĒON treats performance as therapy, pouring out his heart like a bottle of wine. The R&B singer treats us to ballads and anthems of heartache, backed by strings and horns.

President John F. Kennedy, left, looks at a model of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC., 1963.

Culture

It was called the Kennedy Center, but 3 different presidents shaped it

Washington, D.C.'s performing arts center was named for President Kennedy after his assassination. But his vision for the arts as a cornerstone of democracy was shared by Eisenhower and Johnson.

It was called the Kennedy Center, but 3 different presidents shaped it

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Saqer al-Ankah holds his 10-year-old granddaughter, Bayan al-Ankah, after he says she was shot in the head by Israeli forces in northern Gaza about half a mile from the so-called yellow line on Dec. 10.

Middle East conflict

Could international troops be sent to Gaza? Here's why Trump's plan hinges on it

President Trump's peace plan for Gaza hinges on international troops in Gaza, but Israel is skeptical and no country has yet agreed to send their soldiers.

Gaza ceasefire: The next steps

Listen · 4:04 4:04

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Mourners gather around floral tributes at Bondi Pavilion to honor the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney on Dec. 16, 2025. A father-and-son team toting long-barrelled guns shot and killed 15 people including a 10-year-old girl at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, with authorities labeling it an antisemitic terrorist attack on a Jewish festival.

Opinion

Remembering the lives lost to a senseless act of terror

The attack at Australia's Bondi Beach earlier this week on people who were celebrating the first night of Hanukkah was horrific. Stories have emerged about those who died trying to stop the gunmen.

ESSAY 12-20-25

Listen · 2:41 2:41

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Addie Evans envisioned a lifelong career at Planned Parenthood North Central States. She left the organization in 2024 out of frustration with management's unresponsiveness to staff concerns. Photographed on Sept. 15.

Staff complaints, financial pressures roil midwest Planned Parenthood affiliate

MPR News

Planned Parenthood faces external pressures from federal budget cuts and hostile state governments. But current and former employees at the organization's Minnesota-based Midwest affiliate complain that management is making matters worse.

President Trump references a map while talking to reporters about Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 4, 2019. The map appears to have been altered by a black marker to extend the hurricane's range to include Alabama.

Weather

Trump plans to dismantle a critical climate and weather center. Scientists push back

The White House plans to break up a key weather and climate research center in Colorado, a move experts say could jeopardize the accuracy of forecasting and prediction systems.

Scientists push back on Trump plan to break up a critical climate and weather center

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President Trump unveiled deals with nine pharmaceutical companies on drug prices in a White House event Friday in Washington, DC, on December 19, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

Health Inc.

White House announces new round of drug-price deals

Fourteen companies in total have now reached what the administration calls most-favored-nation pricing deals.

Rocky Magwood prepares to shrimp aboard his boat, Magwood's Pride. His family has worked from the docks of Mount Pleasant's Shem Creek for more than 100 years. Nov. 18, 2025.

Despite new tariffs U.S. shrimpers are still struggling to compete with imports

SCPR News & Music

Shrimpers in South Carolina say new tariffs on imported shrimp are not enough to keep them profitable. They also want laws that require restaurants to post where their shrimp comes from.

An illustration of a faceless thief wearing dark clothing and a hoodie, and holding a semi-transparent, larger-than-life credit card. You can see the outline of the thief's body in red through the credit card as they run across a green background, illustrating the concept of scammers taking advantage of the holidays.

Life Kit

4 common scams to watch out for this holiday season

Don't get swindled while buying those last-minute gifts. Amy Nofziger, a fraud specialist with AARP, shares top schemes she's been seeing this season — and tips on how to protect yourself.

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

How to Thrive as You Age

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

Managing a full December calendar and a long list of to-dos can quickly take you from festive to frazzled if you're trying to make everything picture-perfect, Instagrammable and a core memory. ⁠Niro Feliciano, a clinical social worker and author of All is Calmish: How to Feel Less Frantic and More Festive During the Holidays, shares advice on reducing stress and increasing joy this season.

Life Kit

How to focus on what really matters during the holidays

In a comic strip style, invitations to parties are shown against a white background. A blue card with a balloon on it says "Oh no, it's another birthday party you have to attend!" A wedding invitation on the right that says "with deepest regrets" includes an RSVP option: "I will attend but I will be awkward." A red-and-green office holiday party invite says the theme will be "Sorry to do this to you all!"

Life Kit

6 tips to help you overcome social anxiety this season

A still from A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965).

Movies

We caught up with one of the kids who sang on 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.' He's 72 now

Weekend Entertainment

Peylak (David Thewlis), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) in Avatar: Fire and Ash. 20th Century Studios hide caption

toggle caption

20th Century Studios

FA: Lucy Liu

Listen · 42:40 42:40

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Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” first hit No. 1 in 2019 and has topped the chart every holiday season since.

Music

Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' breaks an all-time chart record

Stephen Thompson pop charts update

Listen · 2:32 2:32

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Review

What to Watch

The best movies and TV of 2025, picked for you by NPR critics

Book covers of: Don't Trust Fish, by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan Santat; Every Monday Mabel, by Jashar Awan; Island Storm, by Brian Floca, illustrated by Sydney Smith; Sundust, by Zeke Peña; Tuck Me In! A Science Bedtime Story, by Nathan W. Pyle; Brave, by Weshoyot Alvitre; How to Say Goodbye in Cuban, by Daniel Miyares; J vs. K, by Jerry Craft and Kwame Alexander; One Crazy Summer: The Graphic Novel, by Rita Williams-Garcia, illustrated by Sharee Miller; The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story, by Daniel Nayeri; After Life, by Gayle Forman; Fireblooms, by Alexandra Villasante; Last Chance: Live! by Helena Haywoode Henry; Never Thought I'd End Up Here, by Ann Liang; Sunrise on the Reaping, by Suzanne Collins

Meet the new Washington Post food critic who won’t dine in anonymity

Listen · 7:07 7:07

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Shopping for pricy ACA health plans? Some cheaper options come with trade-offs

Millions of soon-to-be uninsured Americans are looking for a 'plan B' WPLN News

'Congress is in a coma.' Former lawmakers sound alarm on health of the House

On winter's coldest days, this classic Kashmiri coat offers warmth — and wisdom

A radio station in Amsterdam is a lifeline for Sudan. After USAID cuts, it's faltering

Cartagena's iconic horse carriages give way to electric buggies

Available to download Friday, some Epstein files no longer there Saturday afternoon

Epstein Library files disappear from DOJ site after initial release

U.S. forces stop a 2nd merchant vessel off Venezuela coast, officials say

Apple, Google tell workers on visas to avoid leaving the U.S. amid Trump immigration crackdown

Bowen Yang leaves 'SNL' midway through his 8th season

DOJ releases Epstein files and the first batch is short on new information

Justice Department begins releasing Epstein files... What's next?

Jeffrey Epstein files: Tracing the legal cases that led to sex-trafficking charges

Happy winter solstice! At last, we've made it to 'The Shortest Day'

Happy winter solstice! At last, we've made it to 'The Shortest Day'

New Orleans musicians share their favorite Christmas songs, from bounce to blues

New Orleans musicians share their favorite Christmas songs, from bounce to blues

New York has a new archbishop. His background looks a lot like Pope Leo's

New New York Archbishop

Pope Leo summons cardinals for a key assembly to help him govern Catholic Church

Russia says talks on US peace plan for Ukraine 'are proceeding constructively'

U.S. launches strikes in Syria targeting Islamic State fighters after American deaths

9 killed, 10 wounded in South African pub shooting

A Reddit post helped find MIT and Brown shooting suspect. Here's what we know

What to watch for in this weekend's College Football Playoff first round

College Football Playoffs kickoff Friday with Alabama and Oklahoma taking the field

North Carolina's Lumbee Tribe receives full federal recognition after 137-year effort

Trump's push to end transgender care for young people opposed by pediatricians

RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz announce moves to ban gender-affirming care for young people

Listen: GLP-1 pills are on the way. Here's what to know

GLP-1 Pills Are On The Way. Here's What To Know

Kris Kringle and the Jolly Jingles bring holiday cheer to St. Louis with a new single

Are Santa's elves stored along I-5 in Tacoma?

NORAD's Santa Tracker began with a typo and a good sport

NORAD's Santa Tracker began with a typo and a good sport

WATCH

GIVĒON: Tiny Desk Concert

It was called the Kennedy Center, but 3 different presidents shaped it

It was called the Kennedy Center, but 3 different presidents shaped it

Could international troops be sent to Gaza? Here's why Trump's plan hinges on it

Gaza ceasefire: The next steps

Remembering the lives lost to a senseless act of terror

ESSAY 12-20-25

Staff complaints, financial pressures roil midwest Planned Parenthood affiliate

Trump plans to dismantle a critical climate and weather center. Scientists push back

Scientists push back on Trump plan to break up a critical climate and weather center

White House announces new round of drug-price deals

Despite new tariffs U.S. shrimpers are still struggling to compete with imports

4 common scams to watch out for this holiday season

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

How to focus on what really matters during the holidays

6 tips to help you overcome social anxiety this season

We caught up with one of the kids who sang on 'A Charlie Brown Christmas.' He's 72 now

Review

A new 'Avatar,' a marital stand-up story and a gut-wrenching drama are in theaters

Lucy Liu on 'Rosemead,' rejection and returning to Mandarin

FA: Lucy Liu

Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' breaks an all-time chart record

Stephen Thompson pop charts update

Review

The best movies and TV of 2025, picked for you by NPR critics

Review

From toddlers to teens, here's your one-stop shop for young readers

Cheddar bay biscuits, cheap margs and memories: Readers share their nostalgia for chain restaurants

Meet the new WaPo food critic who won't dine in anonymity

Meet the new Washington Post food critic who won’t dine in anonymity