NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-16-2024 4PM EST

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

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Hey, it's Peter Sagal, the host of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Now, if you like Wait, Wait, and you're looking for another podcast where the hosts take self-deprecating jabs at themselves and invite important guests on who have no business being there, then you should check out NPR's How to Do Everything. It's hosted by two of the minds behind Wait, Wait, who literally sometimes put words in my mouth. Find the How to Do Everything podcast wherever you are currently listening to me go on about it. Laxmey Sing Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Laxmey Sing. Madison, Wisconsin police have just confirmed that today's mass shooting at a K-12 private Christian school resulted in the deaths of a teacher, a teenager, and another student believed to be the shooter. Police Chief Sean Barnes disclosed

the condition of the other victims hospitalized with injuries sustained in today's attack at Abundant Life Christian School. Six other people were injured. Two students are now in critical condition in the hospital. And these injuries are considered life-threatening injuries. Forced students are also at other area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. Barnes says authorities still don't know the motive behind today's shooting. Meanwhile, police have been working to reunite survivors of the school with their families. The attack taking place less than 10 days before the school's holiday break. An ex-FBI informant has pleaded guilty to fabricating a false

bribery claim about President Biden and his son Hunter. The false claims played a part in the failed push by House Republicans to impeach Biden. Here's NPR's Ryan Lucas. At a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles, former FBI informant Alexander Smirnoff pleaded guilty to lying about bribes for the Bidens and to charges of tax evasion. According to a statement of facts that accompanied his plea deal, Smirnoff lied to his FBI handler making up a story about a Ukrainian gas company paying millions of dollars in bribes to President Biden and his son Hunter. That false claim later played a central role in the ultimately unsuccessful effort by House Republicans to impeach President Biden.

Under Smirnoff's plea deal, prosecutors and his defense team have agreed to recommend a sentence of between four and six years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for early January. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. President-elect Trump met today with the head of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, who has just pledged $100 billion investment in U.S. projects over the next four years and 100,000 jobs. Of Mike Trump then jokingly pushed for a little more money.

Would you make it $200 billion? He said, he can actually, believe it or not, he can actually afford to do that. Trump and Masayoshi's son at Mar-a-Lago today. A top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams resigned yesterday amid a federal corruption investigation into the mayor's administration. Adams' office says Ingrid Lewisin's departure was a planned retirement. Earlier this year, Manhattan investigators seized Lewis-Martin's phones and searched her home.

U.S. stocks end the day mixed with the Dow closing down 110 points to end the day at 43,717. From Washington, this is NPR News. ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by now-president-elect Trump. Over the weekend, the network did not go into why it decided to settle. At issue was the characterization of charges Trump faced in a 2023 civil case brought by writer Eugen Carroll. A federal jury found

Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. In his suit, Trump accused ABC News host George Stephanopoulos of incorrectly stating multiple times on air that he had been found liable for rape. Trump sued the host and ABC News in March. The new Marvel movie Kraven the Hunter set an undesirable record at the box office over the weekend and Pierre's Bob Mandello has details. So it turns out Kraven's dad was right. He's weak like his mother. Leave him. The character recovers but his movie won't.

With an opening of barely 11 million dollars for the weekend, Craven the Hunter, which cost more than $100 million to make, now has the record for the lowest opening ever for a Marvel movie. The film had been sitting on the shelf through much of the pandemic and was probably not helped by the decision to open it in early December, traditionally a rough box office period. Not rough for Wicked or Moana, though, each of which more than doubled Craven's box office take for the weekend. Bob Mandello, NPR News. A massive operation is under

way in the Italian city of Bergamo, where an expert cave explorer is trapped 16 feet underground. But rescuers say the 32-year-old is alert and responsive. It's NPR News.