Epstein; SCOTUS Nationwide Guard ruling; U.S. GDP : NPR

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Right now's prime tales The Justice Division yesterday launched about 30,000 pages of latest paperwork, together with flight logs, memos and letters, associated to disgraced financier and convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein. The recordsdata include lots of of references to President Trump.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x3375+0+313/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F71%2Ff5%2F5bd2a9bd463892be084bbeb5c39b%2Fgettyimages-2252098056.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x3375+0+313/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F71%2Ff5%2F5bd2a9bd463892be084bbeb5c39b%2Fgettyimages-2252098056.jpg" class="img" alt="U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on December 15, 2025 in Washington, DC." loading="lazy"/> President Donald Trump within the Oval Workplace of the White Home in Washington, Dec. 15. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures conceal caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures 🎧 It is nicely established that Epstein was well-connected and knew many influential figures, together with Trump and former president Invoice Clinton, NPR's Sarah McCammon tells Up First. She emphasizes that Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing, however notes that the paperwork proceed to focus on the connection between Trump and Epstein, elevating questions on how a lot Trump knew about Epstein's actions. She provides that it is unclear which paperwork are credible and which are not. On social media, the DOJ has claimed that one of many recordsdata — a letter from Epstein to convicted intercourse offender Larry Nassar — is pretend. The Supreme Court docket has dominated that Nationwide Guard troops should keep out of Chicago — for now. The choice is certainly one of a number of "emergency docket" circumstances wherein the conservative majority court docket has dominated towards Trump since he started his second time period as president. The justices dominated 6-3, stating that the president failed to clarify why the state of affairs in Chicago warranted an exception to a legislation referred to as the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the army's potential to execute legal guidelines on U.S. soil.

🎧 As a result of the ruling got here via an emergency determination, it doesn't set precedent, NPR's Kat Lonsdorf explains. The choice applies solely to this particular case in Illinois, to not troop deployments elsewhere. However deployments in different cities are presently tied up in litigation in decrease courts, and Lonsdorf says decrease court docket judges are inclined to look to those emergency selections for steerage. The U.S. economic system grew sooner than economists anticipated from July via September, in response to a delayed report from the Commerce Division on the nation's gross home product (GDP). The company often releases this report in October, however it pushed it to this month as a result of authorities shutdown.

🎧 Two components helped drive the expansion, NPR's Alina Selyukh stories. The primary was individuals and firms spending cash on synthetic intelligence and different applied sciences. The opposite is what Selyukh referred to as the "perpetual movement machine" that's the American client. People are persevering with to spend, regardless of latest polling exhibiting rising uncertainty about their monetary prospects. A brand new Convention Board report on client confidence discovered that sentiment declined for the fifth consecutive month, as People fear about inflation, the political panorama, and the labor market. Right now's hear <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4200x2363+0+214/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F24%2F3f%2F8003881c49569fc50c57fa5e15e8%2Fgettyimages-2249022270.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4200x2363+0+214/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F24%2F3f%2F8003881c49569fc50c57fa5e15e8%2Fgettyimages-2249022270.jpg" class="img" alt="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." loading="lazy"/> Mariah Carey's "All I Need for Christmas Is You" first hit No. 1 in 2019 and has topped the chart each vacation season since. Denise Truscello/Getty Pictures for Dwell Nation Las/Getty Pictures North America conceal caption

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Denise Truscello/Getty Pictures for Dwell Nation Las/Getty Pictures North America Christmas stirs a mixture of pleasure, anticipation and … craving. That tender longing runs via vacation classics like Mariah Carey's "All I Need For Christmas Is You" and Judy Garland's model of "Have Your self A Merry Little Christmas." Slate music critic Carl Wilson speaks with Morning Version about why the vacation evokes this sense of craving, and why these songs nonetheless resonate. Hear and seize some inspiration in your Christmas playlist.

Image present <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x1688+0+157/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6d%2F62%2Fef4afa8741ef94863909a21d7569%2F20250205-kut-cowboy-minasi-3.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x1688+0+157/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6d%2F62%2Fef4afa8741ef94863909a21d7569%2F20250205-kut-cowboy-minasi-3.jpg" class="img" alt="Mason "Bric" LaDue, a hip-hop music industry professional turned cattle rancher, takes the reins off of his horse, Valero, on Feb. 5, 2025, at his family's ranch in Marquez, Texas." loading="lazy"/> Mason "Bric" LaDue, a hip-hop music trade skilled turned cattle rancher, takes the reins off of his horse, Valero, on Feb. 5, 2025, at his household's ranch in Marquez, Texas. Michael Minasi/KUT Information conceal caption

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Michael Minasi/KUT Information Because the 12 months involves a detailed, NPR photojournalists are sharing a group of photographs that outlined 2025. The pictures seize the largest headlines and quiet, highly effective human scenes throughout the U.S. They're consultant of the truth that journalism not solely paperwork factual occasions but in addition conveys the experiences and feelings felt within the many locations we name house. This is a have a look at a number of the photographs that resonated with the photographers this 12 months.

3 issues to know earlier than you go <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3249x1828+0+1819/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe7%2F8a%2F3566c1c2459aafa68297092d4907%2Fgettyimages-90034931.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3249x1828+0+1819/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe7%2F8a%2F3566c1c2459aafa68297092d4907%2Fgettyimages-90034931.jpg" class="img" alt="A family at their Victorian-era Christmas dinner, circa 1840." loading="lazy"/> A household at their Victorian-era Christmas dinner, circa 1840. Hulton Archive/Hulton Archive conceal caption

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Hulton Archive/Hulton Archive Right now, the phrase "xmas" conjures up photographs of cozy Christmas cheer. However Yuletide traditions obtained their begin in wild events and animal sacrifice. On this week's Phrase of the Week, dive into the pagan origins of Yuletide festivals.The Center Collegiate Church, a centuries-old house in New York Metropolis, will maintain its first Christmas Eve service tonight after a six-alarm hearth destroyed the constructing in 2020. The church formally reopened on Easter this 12 months.On the Floor Zero Hurricane Katrina museum in Waveland, Miss., an exhibit showcasing letters written to Santa within the wake of the storm tells tales of resilience and restoration. (through New Orleans Public Radio) This text was edited by Majd Al-Waheidi. Brittney Melton contributed.