NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-13-2024 12AM EST

Episode Date: December 13, 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 Dan Ronan. The public killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson continues to put a spotlight on the widespread fury with the business of the U.S. health care. As NPR's Maria Aspin reports, many are using this moment to advocate for change. Dr. Diana Gernita is one of many doctors fed up with health insurance companies. I can tell you so many stories about fighting them and winning, but it's consuming.

Now Gernita runs a direct care practice where she mostly avoids dealing with big insurance companies, but she still understands the frustration that so many have shared this week. Brian Thompson led the largest U.S. health insurer, which has been widely criticized for denying medical claims. He was shot and killed on his way to an investor meeting. Gernita calls Thompson's death a tragedy, one that delivered a disturbing message. It's a wake-up call for all of us. Now she is one of many calling on the health care industry

to listen and to change. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. President-elect Trump has invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to his inauguration next month, and other foreign leaders have been invited as well. NPR's Deepa Srivaran reports. Incoming White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said on Fox News that Trump has invited Xi, but it's quote to be determined whether the Chinese leader will attend. This is an example of President Trump creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries

that are not just our allies, but our adversaries and our competitors too. Levitt did not name any other foreign leaders who have been invited. Recently, Trump threatened a 10% tariff on all products from China for the flow of illegal drugs coming in from that country, though it's unclear if that would actually go into effect. In response, the Chinese embassy in Washington has warned that neither the US nor China would win a trade or tariff war. Deepa Sivaram and PR News, West Palm Beach, Florida.

With the stunning fall of Syria's government, there's new hope for the American journalist Austin Tice, who's been held in that country for more than 12 years. U.S. officials insist they're working to free Tice and bringing him home. His mother, Deborah, says the latest information the family has received is positive. We have actually had updates about Austin being alive, Austin being well, being safe and so and as recently as August this year we got that kind of information earlier this year.

President Biden said he believed the US government could get Tice freed. The price of gasoline continues to fall. Triple A says the nationwide average is now $3.02 a gallon. Gas buddy puts the average at $2.97 a gallon, the lowest in three years. You're listening to NPR News. The UN says desperately needed bags of flour and food parcels made it to central Gaza twice recently, something humanitarian agencies have not been able to guarantee because armed gangs are looting the aid as it enters from Israel. As NPR's Ayah Batrani reports, Israeli airstrikes killed and wounded more than 50 people ahead of the latest attempt to get that food in. The UN World Food Program says 70 trucks were waiting last night to transfer aid along an

Israeli-controlled route in Gaza used twice before successfully, when Israeli airstrikes hit nearby. The WFP says those killed were civilians and local security personnel expected to help ensure a secure environment for the convoy. Palestinians say of those killed, 12 were Hamas-affiliated security personnel there to secure the route. Israel's military says it targeted Hamas militants who it says planned to hijack the trucks. It says the strikes were to ensure the safe delivery of aid to civilians. The WFP, however, says the trucks were completely looted after the airstrikes. Aya Boutraoui, MPR News. The Louisville Police Department and

the Department of Justice have reached an agreement to reform the city's police department in the wake of the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor. The Justice Department said Louisville Police had a pattern of violating the constitutional rights and discriminating against black citizens. Louisville's mayor praised the agreement and said the significant improvements have been made since Taylor's death in 2007, which includes a ban on no-knock warrants by police. From Washington, this is NPR News.