NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-14-2024 4PM EST

Episode Date: December 14, 2024

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I'm Lakshmi Singh. Public radio reminds us of our shared humanity, even at our darkest hours, like with the story of an artist couple who make beautiful spaces for communities to grieve. We found that people will usually stop by and just feel a little bit more open and willing to talk and share. Help us make room for light in the dark. Give before the end of the year at donate.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference in Jordan today

that American officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that spearheaded the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime. The U.S. is working on securing the return of an American journalist who has been missing for 12 years. We've been in contact with HTS and with other parties. regime. The U.S. is working on securing the return of an American journalist who has been missing for 12 years. We've been in contact with HTS and with other parties. We have pressed upon everyone we've been in contact with, with the importance of on Austin Tice and bringing him home. Blinken has been huddling with Arab foreign ministers and the UN envoy on Syria as the U.N. envoy on Syria as the U.S. urges that a secular state emerge there.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi underwent successful hip surgery in Germany after falling during a congressional delegation trip in Europe. And PR's Claudia Grisales has details. Former Speaker Pelosi was part of a congressional visit to Luxembourg to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. At the time, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul was leading the bipartisan delegation of more than a dozen members ahead of the anniversary on December 16th. During an official engagement on Friday, Pelosi fell and was admitted to a nearby hospital for evaluation. She was transferred about two hours away to the medical center at Landstuhl Army Base to undergo hip replacement surgery Saturday morning.

A Pelosi spokesman said she was well on the mend and she thanked the U.S. military staff for their care. Claudia Gonzalez, NPR News. The Texas Attorney General is suing a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas. It's one of the first legal challenges to U.S. shield laws meant to protect physicians after Roe v. Wade was overturned. NPR's Alyssa Nadwarni reports. In a statement, Ken Paxton, the Texas AG, said, quote,

out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents. Abortion medicine is approved by the FDA. The doctor is one of the founders of an organization called Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. They support providers sending abortion medication by mail. The case pits a state with a near total abortion ban against a state with laws that specifically protect doctors in the state from prescribing pills to people in other states. New York's Attorney General and the governor both said they would uphold the state's shield law and

protect their providers. Alyson Adwany, NPR News. 2.6 million Stanley stainless steel travel mugs are being recalled in the US because of a potential burn hazard. The company said the mugs lid threads can shrink when exposed to heat and torque causing the lid to detach during use, posing a burn hazard. This is NPR News in Washington. In the Indian Ocean, Cyclone Cheadle has left extensive damage in the French territory of Mayotte. A local official in the territory called it the most violent and destructive cyclone since 1934, with many people losing everything. The territory has a

population of 300,000 on two small islands. Winds exceeded 136 miles an hour, tearing off metal roofs from homes before the storm moved on toward the east coast of Africa. Supreme Court Justice Katanji Brown Jackson is making her Broadway debut tonight in the musical Anne Juliet. As NPR's Ava Pukac reports, the justice is appearing in a one-night-only walk-on role. Jackson isn't new to the stage. She studied theater at Harvard University while earning her law degree, and even once had future Oscar winner Matt Damon as a scene partner. Speaking to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, Jackson said tonight fulfills a lifelong fantasy.

I told the Harvard admissions people that I needed to go there because I wanted to be the first black female Supreme Court justice to appear on a Broadway stage. The show reimagines the ending of the Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet. Jackson said she was invited for a walk-on role specifically created for her. After the performance, the Supreme Court Justice is participating in an audience talkback. Ava Pukac and PR News. TikTok could take its case to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court let stand a mid-January deadline for TikTok to be sold or face a ban. I'm Louise Schiavone and PR News.