The News Roundup For December 12, 2025

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🗓️ 12 December 2025

⏱️ 85 minutes

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Summary

Democrats were on the receiving end of some midterm election momentum this week. In Indiana, Republicans lawmakers defied intense pressure from President Donald Trump rejecting his demands for a newly gerrymandered Congressional map.

In Miami, residents elected Eileen Higgins as mayor, the first woman to hold the job in the city’s history. She’s also the first Democrat to hold the office in 28 years. And a Georgia state House seat flipped in a district Trump won by double digits.

And Congress is considering limiting the Pentagon’s travel budget after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refused to release footage of a “double-tap” strike he ordered on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, can the United States legally seize a Venezuelan oil tanker or is it an act of “international piracy.”? What does this latest move by the Trump Administration towards Nicolas Maduro mean for escalating the ongoing pressure campaign? President Donald Trump says the vessel was taken “for a very good reason.”

Under the terms of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, 600 trucks per day carrying aid must be allowed into Gaza. This week, an analysis by the Associated Press showed an average of only 459 are crossing into the territory daily. This comes as torrential rain from Storm Byron swept across the Strip flooding overcrowded tents sheltering tens of thousands of families displaced by the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is sounding the alarm about the role China is playing in helping Russia beef up its military industry.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from Bayer.
0:02.3	Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing, transparency, and results that can be proven.
0:09.5	This approach is integral to every breakthrough Bayer brings forward.
0:13.0	Innovations that save lives and feed the world.
0:15.8	Science Delivers.com.
0:17.9	Hey, it's Todd, your host for this edition of the News Roundup.
0:21.5	Just a quick heads up before we start the show.
0:23.7	The news is constantly changing and things might have changed by the time you hear this episode.
0:29.5	Stay up to date with the news by listening to your local NPR member station and by visiting npr.org for all the latest.
0:36.7	Thanks for listening.
0:38.4	Enjoy the show.
0:52.5	You're listening to the 1A podcast. I'm Todd Zwillick, and this is the News Roundup.
0:58.8	This week, a dissonant tone in America from our president talking about Democrats.
1:00.5	You know, they always have a hoax.
1:02.6	The new word is affordability.
1:04.4	From the average American.
1:07.5	I just don't know how anyone is doing it right now.
1:09.9	Everything is so expensive.
1:13.2	The Fed, the Federal Reserve cut rates for the third time in three months. Farmers suffering under Trump's trade policy could see some bailout money,
1:19.5	and more sobering jobs news comes out of the Labor Department. Now, President Trump's
1:24.2	handling of this economic moment is showing up in his approval ratings.
1:29.1	A new AP Nork poll says approval of Trump on the economy and immigration are down 10 points since March.
	...

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