NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-15-2024 1PM EST

Episode Date: December 15, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. Last week during an interview with NBC News, President-elect Trump said members of the congressional committee who investigated the January 6th attack on the Capitol, quote, should go to jail. This is now getting bipartisan pushback from senators. NPR's Luke Garrett has details. Reliable Trump ally, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told NBC's Kristen Welker he can't support him on this. He thinks the members of the January 6th committee should go to jail. Do you agree with that statement?

No. Welker then asked independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont whether President Biden should preemptively pardon January 6th committee members to protect them from Trump. Well, I think he might want to consider that very seriously. Look, that is an outrageous statement. This is what authoritarianism is all about. Trump has also promised to pardon some Capitol rioters on his first day back in the White House.

Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. The Israeli military has begun withdrawing from parts of southern Lebanon as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah that is supposed to end the latest deadly conflict which began last October between the two. But as NPR's Emily Fang reports, Israeli strikes do continue to hit Lebanon. Israel's military said in a statement that it had destroyed some 300 sites in the past week belonging to Hezbollah, the paramilitary organization that is influential in Lebanon. It also said it had, quote, eliminated many terrorists in operations, especially around

a Lebanese town called Hiam. Hiam is also where the Lebanese military started redeploying this past week as part of the ceasefire agreement signed in late November. Lebanon's defense minister accused Israel of violating the ceasefire, and the Lebanese health ministry said one person had been killed by an Israeli drone in Hiam the day after the Lebanese army moved in. Emily Fang, NPR News, Beirut, Lebanon. Germany's foreign minister says anyone involved in committing atrocities for the ousted Syrian

government should not seek refuge in her country. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports from Berlin. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach said anyone who worked for the regime of Bashar al-Assad would face the full force of the law should they try to seek to flee to Germany. Germany's been a major destination for Syrian refugees fleeing the civil war over the past decade. Nearly a million Syrians now live there. The country's interior ministry says Germany is extremely vigilant when it comes to curbing irregular migration, pointing to border checks that the country has put into place along

its frontiers. Rob Schmitz and Pierre News, Berlin. Israel is closing its embassy in Ireland as relations between the two countries deteriorate over the issue of Gaza, the decision comes after the Irish cabinet formally intervened in South Africa's case against Israel in the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. This is NPR News in Washington. Coffee is the latest commodity facing spikes in prices after unusual weather in top-growing countries.

The cost of coffee on the futures market has been trading near record highs amid warnings that supplies will fall short. And Piazzolina Seljuk reports. Brazil is the top grower of the world's most popular coffee bean called Arabica. Vietnam is the top grower of the second most popular bean called Robusta. And over the past year, Vietnam faced severe drought, followed by heavier than usual rains, and then Brazil had one of the worst droughts with rains delayed. Scientists say climate change is shifting weather patterns in those regions. Futures, prices for both types of beans have soared.

Robusta this year has doubled in price, Arabica this week passed a 50-year high, and both have lately gone up and down, hovering around record levels, fueled in part by financial speculators. Brands like Nescafé and Folgers have already raised their retail prices in response. Alina Selouk, NPR News. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is headed to the U.S. Capitol in the coming week to meet with individual senators about the job of Secretary of Health and Human Services. Senators in both parties have expressed reservations about his selection by President-elect Trump

to lead the agency. And now Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, a childhood polio survivor, said any of Trump's nominees seeking confirmation should, quote, steer clear of efforts to discredit the polio vaccine. The 82-year-old lawmaker's statement appeared to be directed at Kennedy after a report that one of R.F.K. Jr.'s advisors filed a petition to revoke approval for the polio vaccine two years ago. I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.