NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-02-2024 3AM EST

Episode Date: December 2, 2024

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Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. President Joe Biden issued a pardon Sunday night to his son Hunter. This comes after the president's son was convicted on gun possession charges and pleaded guilty on tax evasion charges.

As NPR's David Mistich reports, the president had said earlier he would not pardon his son, but has now reversed course. With less than two months left in office, Biden issued the pardon to his son, who is expected to be sentenced this month. In a statement, Biden says he hopes Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision. He also said, quote, raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice. The younger Biden had struggled with addiction to crack cocaine and says he has been sober for more than five years. Issuing a statement of his own, Hunter Biden says he has admitted and

taken responsibility for his mistakes during the darkest days of his addiction. The president's son also says those mistakes have been, quote, exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport. Dave Mistich, NPR News. Sheriffs in North Carolina are now required to keep arrested non-citizens in jail longer when they are asked to do so by immigration and customs enforcement. NPR's Martin Kosty reports. North Carolina sheriffs generally cooperate with ICE, but a few had stopped honoring detainers.

Those are the requests ICE makes for jails to hold on to people who are arrested on criminal charges but are also found to be in the country illegally. Sheriffs now have to hold those people an extra 48 hours so ICE can pick them up. In Charlotte, Sheriff Gary McFadden says he'll comply but it won't be cheap. Right now it is $181 a day for a person to stay in Mecklenburg County Detention Center. That bill is going to be footed by the citizen of Mecklenburg County Detention Center. That bill is going to be footed by the citizen of Mecklenburg County. He says his jail gets 280 detainer requests a year, which he'll now have to honor. ICE officials say it's safer to pick up potential deportees from jails than to have agents go look for them in the

community. Martin Kosty, NPR News. The European Union's new top officials used their first day in office to travel to Kiev to assure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that EU support will not waver. As Terry Schultz reports, the bloc is deeply concerned the US will cut its assistance to Ukraine under President-elect Donald Trump. European Council President Antoniokoszta, Foreign Policy Chief Kaya Kalas, and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kosz told Ukrainian President Zelensky the EU would continue to be by his countryside and that they'll work to make it a member of the bloc. Kalas, a former Estonian prime minister, is particularly outspoken. She said in Kyiv, quote, The European Union wants Ukraine to win this war.

We will do whatever it takes for that. That's Terry Schultz reporting. Lebanon's state-run news agency says Israeli jets hit a southern Lebanon border village on Sunday. Israeli troops meanwhile also shelled other border towns and villages that remain under Israeli control. The attacks come just days after the brokered ceasefire went into effect. You're listening to NPR News. Some mental health experts warn that the holidays can be a time of increased vulnerability to

stress and depression. NPR's Katie Ariddle reports. Holiday stress plus winter. It's a perfect storm for the blues. That's according to Ken Duckworth, chief medical officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He says this is especially risky for people who live in the northern part of the country. And so not a problem in Key West, this particular feature, but you know, in Boston, Chicago, Portland, Oregon, you're going to find people who also have an added vulnerability that coincides with the holidays, which is short days. And for some people that activates the risk of a depressive episode. The holidays, he says, bring a lot of expectations, which can mean either joy or despair. Katie Ariddle in PR News.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt was displayed in the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday to honor World AIDS Day. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden also met with survivors, activists, and family members. The quilt contains 50,000 panels that commemorate some 110,000 people who died from AIDS-related illnesses. There was a lot of movement in college football's top 10 this week after Ohio State, Miami, and Clemson all lost. Oregon remains at number one and Texas moves into second. Number three, Penn State will play Oregon in the Big Ten Championship game. Notre Dame meanwhile is in fourth followed by Georgia who will play

Texas in the SEC Championship game. Tennessee is in sixth followed by Ohio State, SMU, Indiana and Boise State in tenth. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.