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The News Roundup For December 12, 2025

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, [https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/09/miami-elects-first-woman-mayor-ends-gops-28-year-control-of-city-hall-00683878] 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 [https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/09/politics/georgia-democrat-eric-gisler] in a district Trump won by double digits. And Congress is considering limiting the Pentagon’s travel budget [https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/08/ndaa-boat-strikes-congress-hegseth-without-funds-00680679] 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 [https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.foxnews.com/world/venezuela-accuses-us-piracy-after-seizing-massive-oil-tanker&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1765545957520276&usg=AOvVaw0Ubi_FY1v9hP4R0-VP3whB] 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.” [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/politics/oil-tanker-seized-us-venezuela-trump.html] 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. [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/aid-deliveries-into-gaza-fail-to-meet-ceasefire-terms-analysis-shows] 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 [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/10/zelenskyy-warns-russia-china-stepping-up-military-industrial-cooperation] in helping Russia beef up its military industry. Find more of our programs online [https://the1a.org/shows]. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a [https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://plus.npr.org/1a__;!!IaT_gp1N!wOhW79EX-aPWlb0ult1k1kEov2nvCTjFuiZMsf2ABB1n7-WUz4Pfe0q1L1HdmIfb2xbIvng$].  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

The Ethics Of Animal Testing

What would you sacrifice to push efforts forward on eliminating diseases? What about to make sure our products and medicines are safe, especially for our most vulnerable? These questions lead us to ethical quagmire and, oftentimes, to the use of animals for research, testing, and experimentation. We’ve long heard the term “lab rat.” Its popularity in conversation belies an understanding that these creatures are popular subjects for experimentation. [https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/research-at-cambridge/animal-research/what-types-of-animal-do-we-use/rats] But they’re far from the only ones. Around 40,000 dogs were used as test subjects in labs last year, according to a leading advocacy group. [https://www.humaneworld.org/en/issue/dogs-used-research-and-testing-faq] The most common breed used are beagles. Journalist Melanie Kaplan adopted Hammie in 2013, a lab beagle who had been used for research for nearly four years. It led her down a years-long rabbit hole to find out more about her companion’s past. It took her to a sanctuary farm for former research animals in Wyoming, a naked mole rat lab at Boston University, and the homes of former researchers. We discuss her book, “Lab Dog: A Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research.” [https://melaniedgkaplan.com/] Find more of our programs online [https://the1a.org/shows]. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a [https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://plus.npr.org/1a__;!!IaT_gp1N!wOhW79EX-aPWlb0ult1k1kEov2nvCTjFuiZMsf2ABB1n7-WUz4Pfe0q1L1HdmIfb2xbIvng$].  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

The CDC, RFK Jr., And Childhood Vaccine Schedules

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel voted to end a recommendation that all newborns be immunized at birth against hepatitis B. [https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/12/05/nx-s1-5634004/cdc-hepatitis-b-vaccine-acip-meeting] That guidance had been in place for more than 30 years. Hepatitis B is a highly infectious virus that can cause severe liver damage, including cirrhosis and cancer. The members of this panel, known as ACIP, were handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Junior. That’s after he abruptly fired all the previous 17 members [https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/09/rfk-jr-to-fire-all-members-of-the-cdcs-vaccine-advisory-committee-00395235] of the panel earlier this year. That which led top officials at the CDC to resign in protest. His new members have publicly stated they want to revisit the entire childhood vaccine schedule. And after the panel’s recent meeting, President Donald Trump expressed support for such a review. [https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trump-signs-memo-align-us-child-vaccines-with-certain-other-countries-2025-12-06/] How will ending the recommended Hepatitis B shot for newborns affect public health? And what’s next for childhood vaccinations? Find more of our programs online [https://the1a.org/shows]. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a [https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://plus.npr.org/1a__;!!IaT_gp1N!wOhW79EX-aPWlb0ult1k1kEov2nvCTjFuiZMsf2ABB1n7-WUz4Pfe0q1L1HdmIfb2xbIvng$].  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

'If You Can Keep It': Trump And Matters Of Military Law

As of Thursday, the Pentagon says it’s attacked 23 boats and killed at least 87 people [https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/02/politics/timeline-us-strikes-caribbean-pacific-vis] as part of the Trump administration’s campaign against drug trafficking in the Caribbean. In the months since the first strike on Sept. 2, one question has emerged that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cannot seem to shake: Are these boat strikes legal? [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3v15zkxpe0o] The White House says yes. But several members of Congress, legal experts, and former defense and intelligence officials have their doubts. Questions also remain about whether it’s legal for President Donald Trump to deploy the National Guard in cities across the country. [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/appeals-court-allows-trump-national-guard-deployment-dc-continue-2025-12-04/] In this installment of our weekly politics series, “If You Can Keep It,” we convene a panel of experts on military law to help us find answers. Find more of our programs online [https://the1a.org/shows]. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a [http://plus.npr.org/the1a]. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

The News Roundup For December 5, 2025

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was under the spotlight this week. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are demanding video and audio of a “double-tap” strike [https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/01/politics/congress-boat-strike-demand-answers-briefing] he ordered on a boat allegedly carrying drugs into the U.S. The Trump administration has halted immigration applications from 19 countries. This comes after [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/politics/trump-administration-halts-immigration-applications-for-migrants-from-19-travel-ban-nations-including-afghanistan-and-somalia] the shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national in Washington D.C. The city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit against food manufacturers over ultra processed products. [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/us/san-francisco-ultraprocessed-food-lawsuit.html?unlocked_article_code=1.508.VQOD.leI0NeUOZLMA&smid=url-share] It’s the first of its kind and argues that cities and states have been burdened with treating the diseases the food causes. Meanwhile, graphic depictions of at least two survivors being killed [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/28/hegseth-kill-them-all-survivors-boat-strike/] by a second U.S. military strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat sparked outrage on Capitol Hill. This comes as tensions between Caracas and Washington reach a fever pitch. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro confirmed that he did speak with President Donald Trump in a phone call that he described as “cordial.” [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/4/venezuelas-maduro-confirms-cordial-call-with-trump-amid-tensions-with-us] An American delegation attended talks in Moscow, hoping to end the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to compromise during negotiations. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/03/russia-ukraine-putin-meeting-witkoff-kushner/] And the Israeli government announces it will reopen the Rafah border crossing, but only to for Palestinians to leave Gaza. [https://apnews.com/article/israel-gaza-palestinians-hamas-rafah-1e1f8a208a58c0bb671b52304e2d6afa] Find more of our programs online [https://the1a.org/shows]. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a [https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://plus.npr.org/1a__;!!IaT_gp1N!wOhW79EX-aPWlb0ult1k1kEov2nvCTjFuiZMsf2ABB1n7-WUz4Pfe0q1L1HdmIfb2xbIvng$].  Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]