NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-14-2024 7AM EST

Episode Date: December 14, 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 Giles Snyder. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says his office is getting indications that the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson may waive extradition to New York.

The defendant may waive, but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding. Bragg says he's been advised by Pennsylvania officials that a court proceeding can happen until Tuesday. 26-year-old Luigi Mangione remains in Pennsylvania following his arrest at a McDonald's restaurant in Altoona. He's in custody on forgery and firearms charges. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has said she intends to issue a governor's warrant for Mangione's extradition as soon as possible. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has met with the incoming Trump administration's nominee to oversee U.S. border security. New York is a so-called sanctuary city for immigrants who are in the

country illegally, as NPR's Quill Lawrence reports. Adam's met with Thomas D. Homan, who Trump has named as border czar. Homan has been critical of cities like New York, where police do not hand over unauthorized immigrants to ICE without a warrant for a serious crime. Adams acknowledged the basis for some of the criticisms after what he said was a good meeting. We're going to protect the rights of immigrants in this city that are hardworking,

giving back to the city in a real way. We're not going to be a safe haven for those who commit repeated violent crimes. Critics say Adams is courting President-elect Trump because of his own legal troubles. The mayor is fighting federal corruption charges. Quill Lawrence, NPR News, New York. The former Soviet Republic of Georgia has a new president. Lawmakers today elected Mikhail Kovalealechevich, a former Premier League soccer player and hardline critic of the West and the European Union.

Georgia's outgoing president is disusing Kavalechevich's election to the largely ceremonial post, saying she remains president because there's no legitimate parliament. The opposition has accused the ruling party of rigging October's parliamentary election with help from Russia. A missing American man who was found alive in Syria, a step closer to coming home. NPR's Bill Chappell reports. 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, Stacey 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. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Middle East meeting today with Arab foreign ministers

in the Jordanian city of Aqaba. This is NPR News. South Korean lawmakers have impeached President Yoon Suk-yul. The National Assembly today passed the impeachment motion over Yun's attempt to declare martial law. The issue now goes to the Constitutional Court. Yun survived an impeachment vote last week. He has issued a statement saying that he will never give up, and he's calling on officials to maintain stability in government during what he described as a temporary pause of his presidency. The Federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. has rejected a bid by the short video app

TikTok to temporarily block the mid-January deadline for it to be sold or face a ban in the United States. TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, had filed an emergency motion seeking more time to appeal to the Supreme Court. Under the law, TikTok will be banned unless ByteDance divests by January 19th. The mixed week on Wall Street in PR Scott Horstler reports tech stocks climbed to new highs during the week while the blue chip index fell. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader S&P 500 index dipped during the week.

The Dow fell 1.8 percent while the S&P was down 0.6 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, hit a record high on Wednesday, topping 20,000 for the first time percent while the S&P was down six tenths of a percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, hit a record high on Wednesday, topping 20,000 for the first time. While the Nasdaq later gave up some of those gains, the index still ended the week up by a third of a percent. The computer chip company Broadcom's market value climbed to more than a trillion dollars thanks to strong demand for artificial intelligence. This week, the Labor Department reported that inflation in November was slightly higher

than the month before. Nevertheless, the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point when policymakers meet next week. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. And I'm Joel Snyder. You're listening to NPR News.