NPR News: 12-26-2025 2AM EST

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. President Trump says the United States has launched deadly strikes against the Islamic State group in northwest Nigeria.

Writing on social media, he said the group had been targeting Christians living in that African country. The U.S.

says the strikes were carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities, and its initial assessment is that multiple ISIS terrorists were killed in those camps.

Nigeria's foreign ministry said the BBC said to the BBC it was a joint operation. The BBC's Makoshi Okak for has more in this report from Lagos.
U.S.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegzett said he was grateful for Nigerian government's support and cooperation.

Nigeria's foreign ministry said the strikes were part of an ongoing security cooperation with the United States. In November, President Trump ordered the U.S.

military to prepare for action in Nigeria to tackle Islamist militants. He claimed Christians were being targeted in the country, amounting to a Christian genocide.

Nigeria's government rejected that claim. It says armed groups target both Muslims and Christians.
Nigeria has been battling attacks by jihadist groups for more than a decade.

The minimum wage is set to rise in 19 states January the 1st, as NPR's Andrea Shu reports millions of workers in both red and blue states will get a pay raise.

For the first time ever, the number of workers in states with a minimum wage of at least $15 an hour will top the number in states that still follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

That's according to analysis by the Left-Leaning Economic Policy Institute.

Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Missouri, and Nebraska will join 11 other states and the District of Columbia in setting a minimum wage of $15 an hour or higher.

The Economic Policy Institute estimates that more than 8 million workers will see a wage bump as a result of minimum wage hikes in the new year. A majority are women, and about a quarter are parents.

Andrea Shu and PR News. Ukraine marked its fourth Christmas during a war with Russia.
NPR's Hanna Polomornko visited the traditional celebrations in central Kyiv.

Christ is born, let's glorify Him, echoes across the square near the capital's main cathedral. Hundreds of locals and visitors join the Christmas procession with songs and carols.

Student Aisia Puklic is participating in such an event for the first time. Part of her family remains in the occupied territories of the Zaporizhia region in the southeast of the country.

I feel immense joy being here, and I'm very proud to be Ukrainian, she says. Puklich joins the festively dressed crowd to carry on ancient holiday traditions and celebrate life despite the war.

Hanna Polomarenko, NPR News, Kyiv. And you're listening to NPR News.

A pro-Russian hacking group is claiming responsibility for a major cyber attack on France's national postal system.

NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports the attack crippled La Post what it is the busiest season of the year.

The cyber attack was claimed by No Name 057, a pro-Russian group of hackers that has previously targeted media websites and government and corporate websites in countries including Poland, Sweden, and Germany.

Experts say its activities are designed to support pro-Russian information warfare.

It's also been accused of other cyber attacks in Europe, including around a NATO summit in the Netherlands and other French government sites.

The group was the target of a big European police operation earlier this year.

The attack was a major blow to La Post, which delivered 2.5 billion packages last year and employs more than 200,000 people. France has often been the target of pro-Kremlin disinformation actors.

Eleanor Beersley in Pierre News, Paris.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dipped to 6.18% last week. This, according to Fannie Mae, that's down from the 6.21% the previous week.

A year ago, the average mortgage rate across the country was 6.85%.

However, rates for the popular 15-year mortgage ticked up fractionally to 5.5%, up from 5.45% just a week ago.

Shorter mortgages are often used by homeowners who are refinancing and seek to own their homes outright sooner. I'm Dan Ronan, NPR News in Washington.
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