Christmas In Bethlehem, Honduras Election Result, Immigration Crackdown
Up First from NPR
NPR
4.6 • 59K Ratings
🗓️ 25 December 2025
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After two years of not celebrating because of the war in nearby Gaza, Christmas festivities have returned to Bethlehem. Election officials in Honduras have named the winner of the country’s presidential election, after more than three weeks of counting the votes. And, in a year of record breaking immigration enforcement, deportations and detentions are separating families and in some cases that means the oldest children become the family breadwinner.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by James Hider, Didi Schanche, Eric Westervelt and Lisa Thomson.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Zo van Ginhoven. Our technical director is David Greenburg.
And our deputy Executive Producer is Kelley Dickens.
(00:00) Introduction
(03:11) Christmas In Bethlehem
(06:58) Honduras Election Result
(10:40) Immigration Crackdown
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Oh my God, guys. It's the Layla show today. Let's go crazy. Merry Christmas. If you're |
| 0:08.0 | celebrating today and you're starting your day by listening to us, well, what an honor. Thank you |
| 0:13.0 | for being here. And maybe you're also a Christmas slacker. I've been accused. And you're still |
| 0:17.6 | looking for that last minute gift. Well, I'm here to help. |
| 0:24.3 | For the NPR superfan in your life, there's NPR Plus. |
| 0:28.5 | Forget getting some throwaway gift at the only open gas station nearby. |
| 0:30.1 | Am I speaking from experience? |
| 0:30.5 | Maybe. |
| 0:34.6 | Because if you get NPR Plus, you don't have to leave your house. |
| 0:39.3 | And you become a huge part of keeping NPR's independent journalism and our bevy of podcasts going. What says love like a gift that says, I believe in a free press? |
| 0:45.5 | Also, supporters get access to special perks like bonus episodes and more from across NPR's |
| 0:51.3 | podcasts. And the best part is you'll seem thoughtful. So your mom, your brother, |
| 0:56.3 | your best friend, or whoever it is, won't even realize you actually forgot them. It's okay. You |
| 1:01.4 | remembered in time. Just go to plus.npr.org. Click on the option you want to gift and then choose |
| 1:07.8 | give as a gift. That's plus.npr.org. |
| 1:14.2 | On this Christmas morning, we start in Bethlehem. |
| 1:17.3 | We're for the first time since the start of the war in Gaza. |
| 1:19.9 | The Christmas festivities are back. |
| 1:21.8 | This is the best breath of Jesus Christ. |
| 1:23.7 | So we came here to see where he was born. |
| 1:26.1 | How does it feel to celebrate again? |
| 1:27.9 | I'm Leila Fodl, and this is up first from NPR News. |
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