NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-11-2024 10PM EST

Episode Date: December 12, 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 in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. FBI Director Christopher Wray made it official today, saying he intends to resign at the end of President Joe Biden's term next month. In announcing his intention to step down, Wray said he wanted to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray and says the Bureau needs to continue to focus on its mission.

When you look at where the threats are headed, it is clear that the importance of our work protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution will not change. And what absolutely, positively cannot, must not change is our commitment to doing the right thing in the right way every time. The announcement comes a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump

announced he would nominate Loyalist Cash Patel for the job, despite the fact Ray still has nearly three years left in his term. Ray stepped into the post in 2017 after then President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. US officials say locating Austin Tice in Syria is a top priority. MPR's Quo Lawrence reports on efforts to find the American reporter and former Marine who disappeared 12 years ago. Tice had served at war as a Marine. He then studied law at Georgetown University, and in the summer of 2012 he traveled to Syria as a freelance journalist.

He was detained at a checkpoint and was last seen a few weeks later in a video blindfolded and held by gunmen. American officials believe he was held by the Syrian government that collapsed this month. National Security spokesman John Kirby said much is still unknown. There's no indication that he isn't alive, but also no indication about where he is or what his condition is. The FBI is offering a million-dollar reward for information leading to Austin Tice's safe

return. Quill Lawrence, NPR News. In Montana, a ban on gender-affirming care for minors will remain blocked as a lawsuit plays out, following a decision from the state's high court. For Montana Public Radio, Shaili Rieger reports. Montana's Republican majority legislature passed the ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth in 2023. Two health care providers and two families of transgender minors filed suit challenging the new law shortly after saying it violates Montana's right to privacy and equal protection. A district court ruled that's

likely true and blocked the ban while the lawsuit plays out. In response to an appeal from the state, the Montana Supreme Court ruled the lower court was correct. The case will return to district court for a trial. For NPR News, I'm Shaili Regger in Helena, Montana. The government's main inflation gauge heated up a bit last month. The consumer price index, which measures the cost of a market basket of goods, was up 2.7 percent compared to the same period a year ago, increased driven by higher prices for used cars, hotels and groceries. Stocks mostly closed higher on Wall Street, however, the Nasdaq

was up 347 points. This is NPR. Environmental groups are petitioning the federal government to reconsider how it manages grizzly bears. It comes as federal wildlife managers are deciding whether or not to remove the animals from the Endangered Species Act. Montana Public Radio's Ellis Julin has the story. 15 wildlife and tribal groups are petitioning the Fish and Wildlife Service to keep grizzly bears listed. They want it to implement a new management plan drafted by Chris Cervine, who led the

agency's federal recovery efforts for 30 years. Delisting takes the focus off real recovery and is pushed for political expediency, not to benefit grizzly bears. A record number of grizzly bears have been killed in and around Yellowstone National Park this year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been court ordered to make a decision on delisting the grizzly bear population

around Yellowstone National Park by January 20th. A similar decision is also expected for bears around Glacier National Park in the new year. For NPR News, I'm Ellis Ju Lin in Missoula, Montana. And the winner of this year's Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, a red squirrel whose front end is stuck in a tree and whose rear is protruding out with feet in the air. Photo entitled Stuck Squirrel taking top honors among the 9,000 pictures submitted. Photo was taken in a park in Italy by Milko Marchetti who wins a safari in Kenya as the prize.

Other pictures included a white-tailed eagle ruffling its feathers and a frog with its head stuck in a bubble. This year's contest benefits the Whitley Fund for Nature in Britain. Critical futures prices were higher after the EU announced new sanctions against Russia, targeting, among other things, oil and gas shipments, oil up 2.5% to $70.29 a barrel. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.