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

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

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Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all on the web at theschmidt.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. With the stroke of a pen or perhaps a few strokes, President Joe Biden today commuted the sentences of a large group of people who have been moved out of prisons during the pandemic. NPR's Deepa Sivaram has more. Was about 1,500 people who got commutations.

And that means that their sentences were shortened. So they don't have to serve any more time. And they were all people who were released from prison and placed in what's called home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic a few years ago. You'll remember that at the height of the pandemic, prisons were one of the top places where the virus was rapidly spreading. The White House says it is the largest single day of clemency in modern history. The president also pardoned 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes. Biden recently granted a blanket pardon

to his son, Hunter Biden, who was prosecuted for attacks and gun crimes. Nevada's state attorney generals filed new charges against six fake electors from the 2020 presidential race. Sen. Piers Hunter, the Wang, reports the criminal charges are related to efforts to overturn election results four years ago. Six Nevadans are accused of offering to state and federal officials a forged certificate that claimed Donald Trump had won Nevada's electoral votes in 2020. It was one of the documents that became part of a scheme by Trump and his allies to try to overturn those election results. In June, a Nevada judge threw out an early indictment against these six Nevadans after

finding the state attorney general's office chose the wrong venue. In a statement, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford says in case that ruling does not get overturned on appeal, his office has filed these new felony charges in a different menu before the statute of limitations expires. Two of these so-called fake electors from 2020 are set to serve as 2024 electors next week when they're expected to help cast Nevada's electoral votes for president-elect Trump. Hansi Luong, NPR News. Tech Giant Metta is donating a million dollars to President-elect Trump's inaugural fund. NPR's Bobby Allen says it comes after CEO Mark Zuckerberg's recent push to improve

his relationship with Trump. For years, Trump denounced Zuckerberg, including for the executive's decision to donate money toward election infrastructure in 2020. Trump even called for Zuckerberg to be thrown in jail just four months ago. But now, Zuckerberg has donated a million dollars to Trump's inaugural fund. Zuckerberg and Metta have not donated to inaugural funds in years past. The donation was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by NPR. Zuckerberg courting Trump has included a dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida,

and other gestures of goodwill. It comes as other tech leaders cozy up to Trump in anticipation of an incoming administration expected to confront Silicon Valley with a softer touch. Bobby Allen, NPR News. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it's decided to cap overdraft fees charged by banks at $5 under a new rule that would take effect next October. That is, of course, if it's not overturned by the next Congress under the incoming Trump administration. President Biden has called the fees, which can be as high as $35, exploitative. On Wall Street, the Dow fell 234 points.

The Nasdaq dropped 132 points. You're listening to NPR. Word your teens spends an inordinate amount of time online. Well, based on a new Pew Research survey, there could be some basis for concern. According to the report out today, it appears nearly half of U.S. teens say they are online constantly,

even as concerns have risen about mental health effects of heavy consumption of social media and the use of smartphones. As in past polls, YouTube remains the single most popular platform for teens, used by 90% of those surveyed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list the Eastern Hellbender Salamander

as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. If approved, Jonathan Lambert reports the move would give federal protections to the biggest salamander in North America. Individual Hellbender salamanders can grow to more than two feet long and live up to 30 years in the rivers and streams of the eastern United States. These amphibious giants are especially sensitive to water quality, and pollution, soil erosion, and logging have degraded their habitat in recent decades. The pet trade has also cut into their numbers.

The Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that just 12% of their populations are stable, putting the species in danger of extinction. If finalized next year, the listing would prohibit harming hellbenders or removing them from their natural habitat. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. What's being built is the oldest known stone tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments as being auctioned off in New York. Dating back to 300 to 800 A.D., the 155-pound marble slab

was found along the southern Israel coast in 1913 during evacuation for a rail line that then spent the next 30 years swimming as a paving stone at a local home. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. 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.