by Brittney Melton

December 8, 2025

Good morning. Are you ready to plan your 2026 trips to National Parks? If so, keep in mind that the Trump administration has removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list of fee-free days. Here’s the news we’re following today:

The Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a case that could end the independence of independent agencies and expand the president’s power. At issue is whether President Trump can fire Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission. In March, she received an email from the White House, informing her she was being removed from office. The reason given for her firing was not that she had done any wrongdoing, but rather that her continued service did not align with Trump's priorities.

Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter participates in a privacy roundtable at CES 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Jan. 7, 2020, in Las Vegas. She is wearing all black, with black-framed glasses and a microphone by her mouth.

David Becker/Getty Images

🎧 A lower court agreed that Slaughter couldn’t be fired, citing a 1935 Supreme Court decision called Humphrey’s Executor. The Trump administration argues that the precedent, which limits the president's constitutional power to remove the commissioner only for legally specified reasons, was incorrect, even back then, NPR’s Andrea Hsu told Up First. Slaughter told Hsu that the Constitution doesn’t say the president can do whatever they want while in office. Slaughter says that if the Supreme Court rules that the removal protections are unconstitutional, it could destabilize all independent agencies that Congress has created over the last 90 years.

A Democratic proposal to extend current Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years is scheduled for a Senate vote on Thursday. The enhanced health care subsidies are set to expire at the end of the month. The plan Democrats put forth isn't expected to get the 60 votes it needs to advance.

🎧 Senate Republicans are divided on extending subsidies. While some support it, others want income caps and reforms to limit eligibility, NPR’s Deirdre Walsh says. House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to release a health care bill this week and promises a vote this month, although he is not negotiating with any Democrats on it. Trump has not endorsed any legislation regarding ACA tax credits yet. Members of both parties believe that if the president doesn’t get involved in negotiating a deal soon, Americans will see major cost increases next month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with European leaders in London today as they vie for a role in the peace talks with the U.S. This comes as Trump continues to push Ukraine to accept a U.S.-backed plan to end Russia's war. Ukrainian officials have been calling for changes in the proposal, which they say favors Russia.

🎧 The goal of today’s meeting is for the leaders of Britain, France and Germany to demonstrate that Europe remains very supportive of Ukraine, Mujtaba Rahman, Europe managing director at Eurasia Group, tells NPR’s Lauren Frayer. Last week, the Trump administration released a revised national security strategy that claimed that immigration is leading to “civilizational erasure” in Europe. The document also suggested that the U.S. would support far-right parties in the region. The document was met with praise from the Kremlin, raising concerns in Europe that the Trump administration might be more aligned with Russia than with its European allies in general, Frayer says.

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Cost of living

A collage of images including Mac laptops, smartphones and two men at a 1960s-era large computer.

Getty Images/Emily Bogle/NPR

NPR's series Cost of Living: The Price We Pay is examining what’s driving price increases and how people are coping after years of stubborn inflation.

While the prices of everything from cars to coffee continue to rise, there is one thing that has steadily become cheaper: computers. The entry-level MacBook Pro starts at $1,599, a $200 drop from its comparable version five years ago. Why has the price fallen? Here’s what we know:

💻 Gordon Moore's law states that the number of chip transistors, which is the basis of computing, doubles roughly every two years. This advancement has dramatically lowered computing costs while making devices smaller and far more powerful.
💻 The presence of chips in other kinds of electronic devices allows them to become cheaper over time. For example, a 55-inch OLED flat-screen TV first hit the market in 2013 for over $10,000. Today, you can buy one for under $1,000.
💻 The speed of progress dictated by Moore's Law is reportedly slowing down. Experts suggest that this is because transistors have reached a size where the laws of physics begin to limit further miniaturization.

Listen to why the cost of computers has gotten cheaper over time or read the transcript. Stay up-to-date on the latest stories here.

How are higher prices changing the way you live? Fill out this form to share your story with NPR.

It’s that time of the year when many people watch holiday movies with a cup of hot chocolate in hand. Chocolate might even find its way into a stocking or two. But why does it hold such a significant place in our culture, and where did it originate? Chocolate's long history spans the globe. The Throughline podcast takes listeners on a journey from the pre–Columbus Americas to a 21st century medical student’s story about his childhood on a farm that produces those holiday treats. Listen to the podcast to learn about the history, or read the transcript here.

Gifts for every public radio nerd on your list

The most wonderful time of the year? Uhhhhh, sure. Maybe after you’ve crossed everyone off your shopping list. To help you get to the “wonderful” part faster, check out our 2025 holiday guide. We’ve broken out our most popular items into categories for different types of people we know you know, from the music head to the minimalist to the playful activist.

The proverbial ribbon on top? Every purchase you make supports the local journalism you love. So when you gift others, you’re also gifting your favorite NPR station.

Shop Holiday Collections ➔

The Hubble Space Telescope drifts through space in a picture taken from the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1997.

NASA via/Getty Images

A NASA-led study suggests that, within the next decade, light reflected from the increasing number of satellites orbiting Earth could compromise over 95% of images captured by some space telescopes.

Rafael Ithier, founder of the salsa group El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, has died at age 99. He spent more than six decades turning El Gran Combo into one of the premier salsa institutions of Latin America and beyond.

In Rosemead, Lucy Liu plays an ailing mother who resorts to drastic measures to protect her troubled teenage son. Liu discussed the taboos surrounding mental health in immigrant families with Morning Edition.

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This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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