U.S. Strikes ISIS In Nigeria, The Year In Congress, Holiday Spending
Duration
14m
Broadcast on
26 Dec 2025
Audio Format
other
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President Trump has announced the U.S. launched a number of strikes against Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria. Congress started 2025 with an ambitious legislative agenda, but 12 months later has ceded much of its power to President Trump and has passed a record low number of bills. And, shoppers spent a record amount of money this holiday season even as polling finds Americans are feeling glum about the economy.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Gerry Holmes, Jason Breslow, Emily Kopp, Lisa Thomson and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from David Greenberg. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
And our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.
(00:00) Introduction (02:00) U.S. Strikes ISIS In Nigeria (05:40) The Year In Congress (09:28) Holiday Spending
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The U.S. says its military struck Islamic State militants in northwestern Nigeria. The President says the strikes on Christmas Day were aimed at stopping the killing of Christians and this is just the beginning. Why is the President focused on Nigeria? I'm Leila Falden and this is Up First from NPR News. When Speaker Mike Johnson convened Congress in January, he made a bold declaration. Working together, we had the potential to be one of the most consequential Congresses in the history of this great nation. Twelve months later, has Congress lived up to that potential? And holiday spending broke records this year in the U.S.? It honestly blew my mind. The sales just exceeded all my expectations. With polls reporting people feeling glum about the economy, what's driving spending? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. Stay tuned for the following announcements and messages from our sponsors. This message comes from Schwab. At Schwab, you can get everything from self-directed investing to full service wealth management, all in one place. No matter your investing goal, life stage, amount to invest, or know-how, you can invest your way with Schwab. This message comes from BetterHelp. Your brain has limited storage. So why is it still holding on to that embarrassing moment from years ago? BetterHelp is an online therapy platform that gives you space to talk about what's taking up too much of yours. BetterHelp is now in network with more than 125 health plans, with many co-pays as low as $15 for eligible members. And if you don't have eligible insurance, you can still get 20% off your first month. Visit BetterHelp.com/NPR. Cost and coverage may vary. Discount cannot be combined with insurance. This message comes from Dell. Shop at Dell.com for Black Friday and find great PCs like the Dell XPS13 laptop with a long battery life and powerful performance with Intel Core processors. Upgrade your whole setup for less. Dell.com/deals. On Christmas Day, the president announced the U.S. military struck ISIS militants in Nigeria. The attacks come a month after President Trump threatened on social media to go into Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, quote, "guns ablazing," unless it did more to protect Christians who he continually asserts are being targeted and slaughtered. Nigerian authorities say allegations of Christian genocide are unfounded, and that a mishmash of violent armed groups across the country kill as many Muslims as Christians in the country. Joining us now from Nigeria is NPR Africa correspondent Emmanuel Ekenwatu. Good morning. Good morning, Lido. Emmanuel, this feels like these strikes kind of came out of nowhere. What can you tell us about them? Well, in a post on Truth Social, President Trump said he ordered, quote, "a deadly strike
