GEOFF BENNETT: In the day's other headlines: Nine pharmaceutical companies have agreed to cut prices on many of the drugs they sell to Medicaid and sell them directly to consumers through the TrumpRx Web site.

In exchange, the companies will get tariff relief and other benefits.

The companies include Merck, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, and Bristol Myers Squibb.

All told, 14 companies have now reached such deals with the Trump administration to cut prices.

Today's announcement does not address the high cost of most drugs already under private insurance or Medicare, and it stops short of legally forcing drugmakers to cut prices.

But President Trump says it'll help bring costs more in line with those in other wealthy nations.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: For years, we would just say, no, no, no, as medicine got more expensive for us, we would say -- they said, nope, you can't sell it in this country, let United States pay.

And we had other presidents, all of them, said, OK, we will pay.

So we were subsidizing the entire world.

We're not doing it anymore.

GEOFF BENNETT: Separately, Mr.

Trump said in a phone interview late yesterday with NBC News that he sees no need to repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, as he's tried to do for years.

He said he believes Americans will simply stop using it, saying -- quote -- "Obamacare would just repeal itself."

In Syria, the U.S.

military has launched what an official tells the "News Hour" is the largest series of strikes against the Islamic State in years.

Jets, helicopters, and artillery targeted dozens of targets in central Syria.

It follows President Trump's promise to retaliate for the deaths of two National Guard soldiers and a civilian interpreter who were killed by the group last week.

In a post on social media, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said -- quote -- "This is not the beginning of a war.

It is a declaration of vengeance."

They were the first U.S.

fatalities in Syria since the fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad last year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country remains committed to achieving its military goals in Ukraine if Kyiv does not agree to its demands for peace.

Speaking at his marathon annual news conference in Moscow, Putin boasted about recent battlefield successes, saying his forces have seized the strategic initiative.

And while he acknowledged that there are certain signals that Ukraine is ready to talk, Putin insisted that Russia's territorial demands and other conditions be met.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian President (through translator): We do not consider ourselves responsible for the loss of life because it was not us who started this war.

The ball is entirely in the court of our Western opponents, primarily the leaders of the Kyiv regime and, in this case, first and foremost, their European sponsors.

We are ready for both negotiations and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

GEOFF BENNETT: Russia started the war when it invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Meantime, at his own year-end news conference today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was still a ways to go in negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.

He also signaled that he may join talks in Miami this weekend between U.S.

and Russian officials.

The Australian government announced a gun buyback plan today following the mass shooting in Sydney last weekend.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, Australian Prime Minister: The terrible events at Bondi show we need to get more guns off our streets.

GEOFF BENNETT: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the program is expected to take hundreds of thousands of firearms out of circulation in Australia.

The government also said it's considering new gun ownership laws, though that could face opposition from conservative lawmakers there.

And officials announced that Sunday will be a national day of reflection.

They're calling for a moment of silence to mark exactly one week since the attack that killed 15 people during a Hanukkah festival.

Here in this country, a Wisconsin judge is facing up to five years in prison after being found guilty of obstruction for helping an immigrant evade federal authorities.

But the jury cleared Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan of the misdemeanor charge of concealing an individual to prevent arrest.

According to court filings, Dugan led a 31-year-old Mexican immigrant out of her courtroom through a private backdoor in April.

Wisconsin state Republicans are calling for her to be impeached.

Democrats say the administration is trying to make an example of her.

A nearly century-old bridge spanning the Mississippi River was demolished today.

As onlookers watched from the shore, the Black Hawk Bridge crashed down into the water below.

The bridge was built in 1931 and connected Wisconsin to Iowa.

It was called the Singing Bridge because its metal grate flooring made a humming noise when cars drove over it.

It had fallen into disrepair and was closed to vehicle traffic back in October.

Construction on a new bridge nearby is under way, and that's set to open in 2027.

Wall Street ended the week on solid footing thanks to gains in some A.I.-related stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average added nearly 200 points on the day.

The Nasdaq jumped more than 300 points.

The S&P 500 also ended firmly in positive territory.

Still to come on the "News Hour": a "Vanity Fair" reporter discusses the White House pushback against his article about Trump's chief of staff and other top advisers; and David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines.