by Brittney Melton

December 17, 2025

Good morning. If you're looking to diversify your music-listening habits in the new year, check out this list of alternative streaming platforms you should explore. Here’s the news we’re following today:

With two days until Congress’s scheduled holiday recess, lawmakers will likely leave Washington without extending Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies. The enhanced subsidies for ACA marketplace plans will expire at the end of the year. Millions of Americans can expect a spike in their premiums, and some may see the price of their plans double or triple in the new year.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) talks at the podium as U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) (L) and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) (R) stand just behind him on either side.

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

🎧 The House expects to vote today on a package of long-favored conservative ideas around health reform, NPR’s Sam Gringlas tells Up First. The proposed policies include association health plans and revising pharmacy benefit manager regulations. Rank-and-file congressmembers continue to hold bipartisan talks on subsidies, but lawmakers have acknowledged that a solution is unlikely to come this year.

As President Trump nears the end of his first year of his second term, only 36% of Americans approve of his handling of the economy, according to the latest NPR/PBS Marist poll. This marks his lowest score in the six years that Marist has been asking the question. Democrats now hold a slight 37% to 33% lead over Republicans on economic trust. This is a sharp turnaround from the 16-point advantage the GOP had on the question in 2022. The wide-ranging poll also showcases other stark economic pressures Americans face.

The Trump administration unveiled a program earlier this year to fast-track the construction of new and untested nuclear reactor designs. The goal is to have three new nuclear test reactors by the U.S.’ 250th birthday on July 4, 2026.

🎧 The Reactor Pilot Program is fast-tracking 11 new reactor designs by nuclear startup companies, according to NPR's Geoff Brumfiel. The program is run by the Department of Energy, not the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has one of the world's strongest nuclear regulatory agencies. Some companies believe the NRC has been too strict and the Energy Department will be easier to work with. Isaiah Taylor of Valar Atomics tells Brumfiel that he believes the NRC is more relevant for a plant that is 100% ready to be constructed all over the U.S. However, critics of the pilot program believe that the Energy Department is the wrong regulator and that it compromises safety for the sake of speed.

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A menorah with all nine of the candles lit.

Mint Images/Getty Images

Since 1990, NPR broadcasters Murray Horwitz and the late Susan Stamberg celebrated Hanukkah with stories about family, faith, friendship and community. This year, NPR honors the memory of one of its founding mothers by reflecting on Stamberg’s 34 years of performances that still move listeners, spark laughter and provide fresh meaning. In one story, a 100-year-old opera singer faces one final audience in a performance that reflects the undimmed light of an enduring world. In another, a young Jewish boy saves his money to buy his mother a new menorah. Listen to “Hanukkah Lights 2025” or decide which of these four stories you want to listen to first here.

An assembled crash test dummy sits on a movable desk in the assembly area at a Humanetics production facility in Huron, Ohio.

Brittany Greeson for NPR

Humanetics is the leading manufacturer of automotive crash test dummies. They’re buckled into cars for safety tests to gather information on what would happen to a real person in a crash. This year, an updated design for a female dummy moved closer to widespread adoption, and put these dummies in the spotlight. But for many decades, they've quietly done their work, taking hit after hit to help save lives. A crash test dummy's story begins way before they are buckled in for a collision. Their life, of sorts, starts at a Huron, Ohio, plant, where people create their physical parts. Step inside the plant with these photos to see the step-by-step process of developing the dummies.

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A model of the statue of Barbara Rose Johns pictured in 2023. It shows Johns holding a book in the air.

Amy Davis/The Baltimore Sun/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters

Yesterday, a statue of Barbara Rose Johns replaced Robert E. Lee's in the U.S. Capitol after Lee’s removal in 2020. Johns, at 16, led a walkout at her high school, which helped end school segregation.

FIFA announced yesterday that it will sell $60 "supporter entry tier tickets" for each of the 104 games in the 2026 World Cup. This decision follows an outcry over prices for the tournament next summer.

In Charlotte, N.C., a woman left her 10-foot pine Christmas tree half-decorated in her front yard after immigration agents questioned the men helping her. She says she’s using it to symbolize the human and economic costs the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown incurs.

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This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.

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