NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-15-2024 10PM EST

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, has been meeting with senators ahead of his confirmation hearing and facing questions about an alleged sexual assault. Now, Senator Lindsey Graham says Hegseth plans to release his accuser from a negotiated settlement. And here's Luke Garrett has more. The Republican senator from South Carolina told NBC News that Hegseth promised to end his confidential settlement agreement with his accuser.

He told me he would release her from that agreement. This action could lead Hegseth's accuser to come forward publicly with her allegations, something Graham encouraged. Come forward and make it like they did in Kavanaugh. We'll decide whether or not it's credible. A police report shows an unnamed woman accused Hegseth of sexually assaulting her back in in Kavanaugh, we'll decide whether or not it's credible. Peter K. H Washington. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's nominee to be the next Secretary of Health and Human

Services, will be on the Hill this week for meetings with senators. Questions still surround his views on vaccines. During his independent run for president, he campaigned on an anti-vax message. He's also raised national concerns about ultra-processed food and pesticide use. Syria's new de facto leader is calling for diplomatic solutions over conflict with neighboring Israel. Israel continues to launch airstrikes in Syria and is occupying a military outpost it says is necessary to ensure its security since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. And Pierce Kerry Kahn has more.

The Syrian rebel leader who goes by the name Abu Mohammed al-Jolani says his country does not want conflict with Israel. Speaking to Syrian state media, he said there are no excuses for any foreign intervention now and accuses Israel of, quote, using false pretexts to justify its continued presence in and attacks on Syria. Israel has taken up positions inside a demilitarized zone between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria. Military officials say troops will stay through winter. Sunday, Israel's defense minister said recent developments in Syria increased the severity of the threat despite what he called the seemingly moderate facade that rebel leaders claim to

present. Carrie Hahn, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Israel's foreign minister says the country is closing its embassy in Dublin because of what he calls the anti-Israel policy of the Irish government as relations deteriorate over the war in Gaza. Ireland earlier announced it would recognize a Palestinian state, and last week the Irish cabinet said it would formally intervene in South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza. Palestinian health officials say

the death toll is approaching 45,000. This is NPR News. Living through a flooding event has been linked to preterm births and babies being born smaller than expected. That's according to a new study. And here's Alejandra Borunda has more. A. Bloods can really affect people's health during pregnancy. Flooding can displace them or cause them to miss health care or lead to long-term mold issues. Those in turn can affect the growing child. Julia Golke is an environmental health expert at Virginia Tech and the author of the new research. This nine-month window of your very start of your life is really dynamic and really kind of susceptible to external perturbations and also can have lifelong consequences.

Golke and her colleagues looked at studies from around the world that tracked birth outcomes and flood exposure. Babies whose mothers dealt with floods were more likely to be born early and small. Those factors are linked with health problems like asthma or even type 2 diabetes later in life. Alejandra Burunda, NPR News. Lylea Salazar At the weekend box office, Malana, too, took the top spot again with an estimated $26 million in ticket sales. So far, it's the fourth highest grossing film of the year, surpassing Dune Part II, with $717 million globally. In second place, Wicked, with $22 million in its fourth weekend, Worldwide Wicked has made more than $500 million.

In third place, the Spider-Man spinoff craven The Hunter with $11 million in its debut, one of the worst openings for a Marvel-adjacent movie. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.