NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-15-2024 6AM EST

Episode Date: December 15, 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. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says U.S. officials are in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. He is the first U.S. official to publicly acknowledge the contacts.

The group known as HTS is designated by the U.S. and other countries as a foreign terrorist organization. MPR's Leofato is in Damascus and has more on the rebels who are now a week into efforts to transform Syria. The opposition, which is now the de facto government, is being led by Hayat al-Hadid al-Sham, an Islamist group that was once linked to al-Qaeda but broke ties years ago and have sort of rebranded. And now they've gone from ragtag fighters born in a brutal war against Assad's regime

to the de facto government. And now they're working on governing, securing the city. They've got checkpoints looking for weapons among civilians because so many of the military bases just opened up and people took weapons. NPR's Leila Fadl reporting from Damascus where schools have reopened for the first time since Assad was overthrown. To Georgia now, a lockdown at Fort Eisenhower near Augusta was imposed and lifted Saturday morning after officials said a person was shot and killed at the U.S. Army installation. From member station WABE in Atlanta,

Molly Samuel has more. AMBER BRADLEY Army officials issued an all-clear less than an hour after the lockdown began Saturday morning. They said the shooting happened at a housing unit on the installation and appeared to be an isolated incident. The alleged shooter was apprehended and taken into custody. Officials said they wouldn't release information about the victim until family was notified. Despite base operations center saying normal operations could resume, activities related to the Army-Navy football game, which was being played outside Washington, were canceled. Fort Eisenhower, formerly named

Fort Gordon, is home to the United States Army Cyber Command. For NPR News, I'm Mollye Samuel in Atlanta. Nat. Q. Mira is one of the biggest blockbuster drugs of the last two decades. It treats things like psoriasis, certain kinds of arthritis, and Crohn's disease. NPR's Sydney Lumpkin reports on a new study that looks at whether patients are switching to lower cost alternatives called biosimilars. For complex drugs like Humira, the copies aren't identical like they are

for typical generic drugs. But the alternatives are close and they're called biosimilars. In the first year of biosimilar competition for Humira, however, the alternatives didn't win much of the market. Ben Roem of Harvard Medical School co-authored a new study published in the journal JAMA Health Forum finding only 2% of prescriptions were for the biosimilars.

When the biosimilars have such difficulty getting traction, what it means is that the next time a big blockbuster drive faces competition, maybe biosimilar makers are less excited to come to market. time a big blockbuster drive faces competition, maybe biosummoners are less excited to come to market. He says health insurers paid less for Humira even as its manufacturer raised its official list price. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News.

The damage on the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean is said to be catastrophic. At least 11 people are now reported dead after Cyclone Cheadle slammed Mayotte. There are fears a death toll will increase. The storm is believed to be the strongest to hit the islands in more than 90 years. Pope Francis is visiting the French island of Corsica today. It's the first papal visit to the island and will include a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. A spokesman says former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is well on the mend. Pelosi had hip replacement surgery at a US

military hospital in Germany after falling while at an event in Luxembourg with other members of Congress. They were there to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the one of the bloodiest clashes of World War II, the Battle of the Bulge. Terry Schulz reports that U.S. military personnel and a handful of veterans of the war returned for the commemoration. The Battle of the Bulge, which began in December 1944 in the dense forests of Belgium and Luxembourg, is considered a turning point in the Second World War, the last major offensive by Nazi

soldiers and the largest single battle fought by the U.S. during the war. considered a turning point in the Second World War, the last major offensive by Nazi soldiers, and the largest single battle fought by the U.S. during the war. The third army led by General George Patton would ultimately break the siege by December 27 in the city of Bestone, Belgium, and it would turn the tide of the war in the Allies' favor. More than 100 troops from the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Kentucky have come to honor their predecessors who fought in this battle. These days, even German diplomats participate in the ceremony to represent the reunification

of Europe. For NPR News, I'm Terri Schultz in Brussels. And I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News from Washington.