NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-13-2024 5PM EST

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

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When it came out in 1843, a Christmas carol was a sensation, and Charles Dickens became a legend. Some people would consider him the originator of Christmas or the inventor of Christmas. The past, present, and future of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Listen to Thulein wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A missing American man who was found alive in Syria is now one step closer to coming home.

More from NPR's Bill Chample. Travis Timmerman is now under the protection of U.S. forces. Months after the 29-year-old went missing, he was handed over near a remote base in southeastern Syria, a process witnessed by NPR's Jane Aroff. His mother, Stacy Collins Gardner, says she's excited for her son to come back to their home in Urbana, Missouri. Tell him I love him very, very much and I've been crying for him every day. Timmerman's immediate future is unclear.

He was put in a Syrian jail, but not mistreated, he says, after entering the country illegally on a religious pilgrimage. He was freed after the authoritarian government of Bashar al-Assad was overthrown. Bill Chappell, NPR News. After President Biden granted clemency for nearly 1,500 people Thursday, some advocates are calling on the president to do more. And Beers Deeper-Shivram has details. On Thursday, Biden commuted the sentences for about 1,500 people who were on home confinement since the COVID pandemic because of the risk of spreading the disease.

It's the largest act of clemency in a single day in modern presidential history. But some advocates of the pardon power have called those actions low-hanging fruit. Cynthia Rosemary from the ACLU said she hopes Biden focuses his pardon actions on the 40 people on death row. If the president had the will to do it, he could commute the 40 men who are on death row. He could commute thousands of people, thousands of sentences and reunite many families.

Biden has said he will continue looking at further clemency possibilities in the last weeks of his administration. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says he intends to press forward with his efforts to get the man charged in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson extradited to New York. Suspected shooter Luigi Mangione is currently being held in Pennsylvania and being arrested in McDonald's in Altoona.

The soonest a court hearing could be held would be next Tuesday. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been hospitalized in Europe after sustaining an unspecified injury. NPR's Elena Morrow reports Pelosi is traveling in Luxembourg with a congressional delegation. According to her spokesperson, Pelosi is receiving, quote, excellent treatment. The statement did not provide details about how the injury occurred or the Speaker of America's current condition. Pelosi, who is 84, was in Luxembourg to honor American service members who fought in the

Battle of the Bulge, which happened 80 years ago this December. Her spokesperson said that due to her injury, she will not be attending the rest of the events on the trip. Elena Moore, NPR News, Washington. This week the government released its latest report on inflation and next week, ahead of a meeting by the Federal Reserve, more numbers are coming out. Tuesday the Commerce Department releases a monthly snapshot of sales at the retail level. A mixed close on Wall Street today, the Dow fell 86 points.

This is NPR. Thousands of Syrians took to Damascus' largest square today to celebrate the ouster of the country's authoritarian Rulubashal Assad. Celebrations coming as the leader of the insurgency movement that toppled the Assad government appeared in a video message congratulating the Syrian people. Meanwhile, the Turkish capital Ankara, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there is broad agreement between Turkey and the US on what they would like to see in Syria. China's defense ministry is finally addressing questions about a surge in its naval activity near Taiwan. A

spokesman has not confirmed or denied deployment but says the People's Liberation Army will not be absent in the fight against Taiwan's independent forces. MPR's John Wulwich reports from Shanghai. will not be absent in the fight against Taiwan's independent forces. Embarrassed, John Wulwich reports from Shanghai. Taiwan reported a spike in the number of Chinese ships and aircraft operating in adjacent seas this week, raising alarm on the self-governed island. But Beijing has yet to confirm the deployment or explain exactly what it might have been – drills, exercises, or otherwise.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry said decisions to hold exercises or not and when to do so were China's alone. And regardless, he said, the Chinese military quote, will not be absent and will not be soft in the fight against those seeking independence for Taiwan. Separately, Taiwan's Defense Ministry reported that a US Navy plane transited the Taiwan Strait on Friday. There was no immediate confirmation from the U.S. military. John Ruhich, NPR News, Shanghai. Stanley's recalling millions of its popular travel mugs over complaints about lids falling off, potentially causing burns if they contain hot liquids.

Stanley recalling 2.6 million of the stainless steel mugs. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.