NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-11-2024 7PM 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. Police have more evidence tying Luigi Mangione to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. As NPR's Maria Aspin reports, officials now say the gun in Mangione's possession matches

physical evidence from the crime scene. Police arrested Mangione after a five-day manhunt for the person who shot and killed Thompson in Manhattan last week. The 26-year-old suspect is being held in Pennsylvania on weapons and forgery charges. He is fighting extradition to New York, where he faces charges for second-degree murder. But the gun in his possession has been sent to the NYPD crime lab, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Jessica Tisch, New York Police Commissioner We were able to match that gun to the three shell casings that we found in midtown at

the scene of the homicide. She also said that the fingerprints on the gun matched the prints on other evidence found near the crime scene in New York. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. The number of people in the U.S. dying from fatal street drug overdoses continues a sharp decline. That's according to new federal data released today. As 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 U.S. 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. The government's main inflation gauge heated up a bit last month, posting its biggest rise since April. Consumer price index, which measures the cost of a market basket of goods, up 2.7% compared

to the same period a year ago. NPR's Scott Horsley has more on some of the areas driving up prices including higher prices at the supermarket. Grocery prices jumped half a percent in November. That was the biggest one month increase in almost two years. Now it's not primarily the Thanksgiving turkey's fault. Turkey prices were up a little bit last month but they're still down from a year ago. The big culprit once again was eggs. Egg prices jumped more than 8% in November. They're up more than 37% over the last 12 months.

Prices for used cars and hotels also rose, though likely not enough to prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates when it holds its final meeting of the year next week. Stocks mostly gained ground on Wall Street today. The NASDAQ rose 347 points. The S&P 500 gained 49 points, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 99 points today. You're listening to NPR. The European Union is putting in place new sanctions against Russia in connection with its war against Ukraine.

The head of the bloc saying the measures will specifically target a vast shadow fleet of ships Moscow has been using to skirt restrictions on transporting oil and fuel. Sanctions targeting around 50 ships. Sanctions will also hit more officials and entities but to be helping Russia improve its military technology by evading export restrictions. Macy's has lowered its financial forecast for the years. The company also detailed its investigation into an accounting employee who had tens of millions of dollars in expenses. And as Alina Seljuk reports, Macy's says the employee's intentional bookkeeping errors stretched out for almost three years. Macy's has completed its review of the now ex-employee who hid a hundred and

fifty one million million in delivery expenses. Company executives say this was not theft and the sum of money did not affect overall financial reports. The department store chain continues to lose sales down 2.4% in the latest quarter. Macy's also slightly lowered its profit outlook for the year. Shares fell on the news. The chain has been closing underperforming stores and Macy's is once again under pressure from an activist investor

to boost its stock price by selling off real estate, which the investor believes is worth more than the retail company. Alina Seluk, NPR News. After two losses in the court's grocery store chains, Kroger and Albertsons are calling off their plan merger, each accusing the other of not doing enough to facilitate a proposed $24.6 billion deal. Albertson is now suing Kroger seeking a $600 million termination fee as well as billions in legal fees. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.