NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-15-2024 9AM EST

Episode Date: December 15, 2024

NPR News: 12-15-2024 9AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. The UN envoy for Syria says he supports lifting sanctions on the Islamist group that led the offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad. Gare Peterson spoke to reporters during a visit to Damascus today. He's calling for immediate aid for the Syrian people. We will hopefully see a quick end to sanctions so that we can see really a rallying around building up Syria again. And then we need to see, of course, justice and accountability for crimes. And we need to make sure that that goes through a credible justice system and that we don't

see any remit. Peter Anderson arrived in Damascus after meeting in Jordan this weekend with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Arab diplomats. Blinken is acknowledging that American officials have been in direct contact with the group now leading Syria, even though it continues to be designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. and other countries. Schools across Syria reopened today for the first time since the fall of Assad a week ago. Students applauded as a new Syrian flag was raised and Christians attended Sunday service amid assurances by the new Islamist rulers that the rights of minorities

will be protected. MPR's Ruth Sherlock is in the Syrian capital where there have been celebrations in the streets. Syrian people are one, the Syrian people are one. These have been the chants of the Syrian revolution since 2011 when the protests began. But back then, they were rindera and homs and the fringes of Damascus. So many people here didn't imagine that one day they'd be right here. NPR's Ruth Sherlock reporting from Damascus. South Korea is seeking to reassure allies a day after lawmakers voted to impeach President Yun Sung-yol. Acting President Han Seok-do has spoken with President Biden by phone in a statement. Han says South Korea

will carry out its foreign and security policies without disruption, and he pledged to ensure the alliance with the U.S. is maintained. The Federal Reserve is holding its last meeting of the year this week, and as NPR's Rafael Naam reports, most investors in Wall Street are expecting policymakers to cut interest rates for a third consecutive time. Rafael Naam The Fed has a delicate task heading into 2025. Policymakers have already cut rates twice starting in September, and Wall Street is betting they will do that again this week. But after that, the outlook becomes more uncertain. That's because inflation may be easing, but is still

above where the Fed would like it to be, and the economy has remained pretty healthy. So the Fed believes it can afford to go slow in cutting rates. That has analysts thinking this may be the last rate cut for now, with the Fed then growing more cautious as CDC's economic conditions. Rafael Nam, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News. Police in Houston are seeking help from the public in the search for a suspect in a mass shooting late last night that left two teenagers dead and three others wounded. In Vermont, though, the manhunt is over for the suspect wanted in connection with a shooting that left a police officer severely injured.

Authorities say they caught up with the suspect overnight. The reported drone sightings that began in New Jersey last month have led to much speculation and concern, but federal officials are playing down the sightings, saying they could be manned aircraft mistaken for drones. The FBI said this weekend fewer than 100 of more than 5,000 sightings have merited further investigation. Humira 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 Lupkin reports on a new study that looks at whether patients are switching to lower-cost alternatives. 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. He says health insurers paid less for Humira even as its manufacturer raised its official list price. Sydney Lupkin, NPR News. And I'm Giles Snyder.

This is NPR News from Washington.