NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-11-2024 3PM EST

Episode Date: December 11, 2024

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52 years ago, the federal government launched a program to support the poorest elderly and disabled Americans. But an NPR investigation has discovered a very different reality. They come to me and say, you owe $20,000. How a program designed to help the most vulnerable is trapping them in poverty. Listen now on the Sunday story from the Up First podcast. Listen now on the Sunday story from the Up First Podcast. Lakhshmi Singh. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakhshmi Singh. When the Biden administration ends in January, FBI Director Christopher Wray says he'll leave.

He still has years left on his term, but as NPR's Ryan Lucas reports, Wray notified FBI staffers about his decision today. While President-elect Trump's declared nominee to replace Ray makes the rounds on Capitol Hill to try to secure Senate confirmation. Ray announced his decision at an FBI town hall. He said after careful consideration, he decided it was the right thing for the FBI for him to serve until the change in administration and then step down. His goal, he says, is to keep the focus on the FBI's mission, and resigning

is the best way to avoid dragging the FBI, quote, deeper into the fray. Ray will step down a little over seven years into his tenure term. He replaced former Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017. The president-elect announced last month that once back in office, he intends to nominate Kash Patel to be FBI director, making clear that Wray would not remain in the job. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. Anchor over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, including the deaths of 13 service members three years ago, spilled into the congressional chamber where Secretary of State

Antony Blinken was testifying today. I think we've done good and important things together. Blinken says he deeply regrets, quote, that we did not do more and could not do more to protect the 13 service members killed in a bombing outside Kabul airport. Our thoughts are with all of the Gold Star families. They're with the State Department and USAID employees who lost their lives over the course of 20 years of our military involvement in Afghanistan. The U.S. allied withdrawal resulted in the Taliban's return to power 20 years after they were toppled in the U.S.-led invasion after 9-11.

Albertson's is suing Kroger, ending the failed mega merger of America's two biggest supermarket chains. It would have been the biggest in U.S. history, but was blocked by two separate court rulings. And Piazalina Solik reports the breakup is now turning into a bitter divorce. Piazalina Solik It's been over two years since Kroger first bid almost $25 billion to buy its biggest rival, Albertzins. The Federal Trade Commission and several states have argued the merger would reduce competition and leave shoppers worse off. On Tuesday, a federal district judge in Oregon and a judge in Washington State

separately ruled to block the deal and now Albertsons has terminated the merger. It has also filed a lawsuit against Kroger alleging a willful breach of contract for not doing enough to get the merger approved. Kroger in turn says Albertsons is deflecting its own responsibility and its own contract violations. Albertsons seeks billions of dollars in damages plus a $600 million breakup fee to which Kroger says it is not entitled. Alina Seluk, NPR News. From Washington, this is NPR. The number of people in the United States dying from fatal street drug overdoses continues a sharp decline

according to new federal data released today. NPR's Brian Mann reports the Biden administration says the national fight against fentanyl is working. At the peak of the fentanyl epidemic, more than 113,000 people in the US were dying from street drugs every year. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show roughly 94,000 deaths

in a 12-month period, still high, but it's the biggest drop in drug deaths ever recorded. Speaking on background today, a senior Biden administration official said one factor is better cooperation from China, cutting off the supply of industrial chemicals used to make street fentanyl. White House officials say public health measures and wider use of medications that reverse opioid overdoses are also helping. This progress comes as the Biden administration prepares

to hand off the fight against street fentanyl to President-elect Donald Trump's team next month. Brian Mann, NPR News. Meta apps may be prompting error messages today. The website downdetector.com reports tens of thousands of users were experiencing outages involving Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and threads. Last month, consumer prices in the U.S. rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier. Inflation has cooled substantially from levels last year and even earlier this year. The Federal Reserve is set to hold its last policy meeting of 2024 next week. Investors are expecting the Fed to cut interest rates for a third time this year.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.