NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-16-2024 11PM EST

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. A New York judge is rejecting President-elect Donald Trump's attempt to have his hush money conviction tossed out. NPR's Giles Snyder reports on the morning 40-page decision. Donald Trump's lawyer sought to have his conviction on 34 felony counts nullified because of the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity. They argue that keeping it in place would impede Trump's ability to govern when he returns to the White House.

But Judge Juan Roshon sided with prosecutors. In his ruling, Roshon wrote that Trump's actions were decidedly personal and that the case poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the executive branch. Trump's lawyers have raised separate grounds to overturn the conviction and Mershon must still decide what to do about sentencing. Trump was found guilty in May of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult film actor Stormy Daniels. Trial Snider, NPR News.

In Washington, House Democrats have moved to oust Georgia Congressman David Scott from the top post on the Agriculture Committee. As WABE Sam Greenglass reports from Atlanta, Democrats are replacing several aging chairs as they gear up to battle the Trump administration. Agriculture is Georgia's top industry and the committee's ranking member will help shape the crucial farm bill, which is expiring this year. The Democratic Steering Committee ultimately voted to recommend 52 year old Minnesotan Angie Craig for the post.

The full caucus weighs in next. Scott chaired the committee in 2021 and 2022 and was elected to a 12th term in Congress this fall. But the 79-year-old has experienced health issues in recent years. House Democrats are also poised to have new ranking members on judiciary and natural resources. For NPR News, I'm Sam Greenglass in Atlanta. The Biden administration says the recent suspicious sightings in the skies have not posed any threat to national security or public safety. NPR's Asma Khalid has more.

The White House says the flying objects that have been spotted along the northeast are just lawful commercial drones, law enforcement drones, helicopters, and even stars mistaken as drones. To date, their assessment is that none of this poses a risk to Americans. Here's White House National Security spokesman John Kirby. I think it's important to remember up in a context here, there are more than one million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States.

His comments came after President-elect Donald Trump earlier in the day criticized the Biden administration for not disclosing more about these drone sightings. Asma Khalid, NPR News. Authorities in Wisconsin are investigating the nation's latest school shooting, this time at a Christian school in Madison. Police say a 15-year-old girl killed a teacher and another teenager and injured six others. Madison Police Chief Sean Barnes says the shooter died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

This is NPR News. The George Floyd case is getting another review as defense attorneys seek to reverse the conviction of the ex-police officer sent to prison for killing him. As Matt Sepick of Minnesota Public Radio reports, a judge says the attorneys may examine Floyd's heart tissue. In 2021, a state jury convicted Derek Chauvin of murder. He later pleaded guilty to federal counts of using excessive force on George Floyd. Chauvin is serving concurrent sentences of around 20 years.

Chauvin argues that his original defense attorney failed to tell him about an email from a Kansas pathologist who believes Floyd died of a heart condition, not from the pressure of Chauvin's knee on his neck. Federal Judge Paul Magnuson is letting defense experts examine preserved samples of Floyd's heart tissue and bodily fluids. The Justice Department contends that because a jury already rejected a similar medical opinion, Chauvin's conviction should stand. For NPR News, I'm Matt Sepick in Minneapolis.

The Pentagon says around 30 North Korean troops were killed in combat with Russian forces near the Ukraine border. The casualties reportedly occurred around three villages in the Kursk region, where Russia has been trying to quash a Ukrainian incursion. The United States and Ukraine estimate that North Korea has sent up to 12,000 forces to Russia to aid that nation's war against Ukraine. President-elect Donald Trump says he's tapping a former investment banker and diplomat to serve as U.S. ambassador to Japan.

George Glass served as ambassador to Portugal and has been a critic of China. His nomination comes amid trade tensions and territorial disputes between Tokyo and Beijing. I'm Shea Stevens. This is NPR News.