NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-13-2024 5AM 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 Dave Mattingly. The UN says humanitarian aid, including food parcels and bags of flour, have made their way into Gaza. NPR's Aya Batraoui says that's despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes and armed gangs continuing

to loot shipments from Israel. 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. Ayah Batraoui, MPR News. Palestinian medical officials say dozens of people in Gaza have been killed or wounded by Israeli airstrikes this week. The ongoing war in Ukraine and the ouster of Syria's president are expected to be the main issues today when President Biden speaks with G7 leaders. Biden's National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says the talks will be held virtually.

The White House says there's no evidence recent drone sightings over New Jersey involve any threats to national security or public safety. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are still investigating. Police in New York City say there's no indication the man charged with killing the CEO of United Healthcare was ever insured by the company. That's what Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York. He says 26-year-old Luigi Mangione

may have targeted Brian Thompson because of the size of the company. NPR's Maria Aspin says some people continue to point to the shooting as a reason to reexamine the state of the nation's health care industry. 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. Wall Street futures are mixed this morning. This is NPR News from Washington. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says legislation to provide full Social Security benefits to millions of Americans will be brought to the Senate floor for a vote before the end of the month. The Social Security Fairness Act would eliminate policies that limit Social Security payouts to nearly 3 million people. The Congressional Budget Office says the bill would add an estimated $195 billion to federal budget deficits over 10 years. That bill has cleared the House.

The Navajo Nation is urging Congress to act on a water rights settlement. As Alex Hager with Member Station KUNC reports, supporters say the legislation would bring clean water access to more people in the largest section of tribal land. Navajo Nation leaders say money from the settlement would help bring in new sources of water and improve water delivery systems. The nation's principal hydrologist, Crystal Tule Córdova, notes that one in three Navajo households lacks access to clean water. There's a pressing need to be able to address that issue now and have the opportunity to be able to create the infrastructure through water settlements to help close the clean water access gap in the Navajo Nation." Tuli Córdova and other Navajo leaders say the settlement has been decades in the making and hope it clears Congress before the year ends and a new Congress takes over.

For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager. The National Transportation Safety Board says a flight crew's decision to fly over a storm cell and not around it is what led to severe turbulence and injuries aboard a Hawaiian Airlines flight two years ago. I'm Dave Mattingly, NPR News in Washington.