NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-17-2024 11AM EST

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

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Every weekday, Up First gives you the news you need to start your day. On the Sunday story from Up First, we slow down. We bring you the best reporting from NPR journalists around the world, all in one major story, 30 minutes or less. Join me every Sunday on the Up First podcast to sit down with the biggest stories from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. In U.S. state capitals today, presidential electors are meeting to cast their electoral votes

for the 2024 election in line with the U.S. Constitution. It'll formalize President-elect Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. At the same time, some so-called fake electors from the 2020 election are casting real votes today on behalf of their states for Trump. NPR's Hansi Loong reports these Republican electors still face criminal charges related to efforts to overturn election results from four years ago. Eight of the Republican electors this year for President-elect Donald Trump have been indicted in Michigan and Nevada.

Four years ago, they sent false certificates to state and federal officials, claiming that Trump had won those states' 2020 electoral votes. Those documents became part of the failed attempt to overturn those election results that culminated in the January 6th insurrection. Now in Michigan, cases against six of those returning electors are working their way through state court, after the Democratic Michigan attorney general announced charges last year. In Nevada, state prosecutors filed new forgery charges this month against two returning electors.

There are also ongoing prosecutions in Arizona and Georgia against pro-Trump electors from 2020 who are not set to cast their state's electoral votes today. Anzie Lawong, NPR News. Authorities in Madison, Wisconsin, say a 15-year-old girl opened fire at a Christian school yesterday. A student and a teacher were killed.

Six others were wounded. Madison's police chief says the girl then apparently took her own life. Wisconsin Public Radio's Sarah Lear says the reason for the shooting is not yet known. The biggest question, why? That's still unclear. Police say they're still trying to piece together a motive. Officers have recovered a handgun from the scene. Madison police say they're working with federal officials to trace the origins of the gun.

The police chief said late Monday, it's not clear how exactly a 15-year-old got this gun. Sarah Lear reporting. Police were alerted to the shooting when a second grader called 911. Syrians are trying to imagine a new future after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad and the end of his family's rule.

And Piers Hadil al-Shalchi reports that includes artists and students who were long censored under the Syrian regime. Just over a week ago, it was unimaginable for these Syrian artists to gather like they are now at this fine arts college in Damascus. The Assad regime cracked down on most unofficial meetings. Standing in a large circle exchanging ideas on their vision for Syrian art, fellow artist Fadi Asaf is still worried about censorship. Will the new leaders put guidelines or red lines on what we can paint, he says.

Some of the artists are concerned the new leadership, with its Islamist roots, will crack down on freedom of expression. But artist Asaf says it's too soon to judge, and he and the other artists will start mobilizing now just in case. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Damascus. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Authorities in Russia say a bomb hidden in a scooter has killed a top Russian general and an aide in Moscow.

NPR has learned Ukraine was behind the assassination. The general was accused of overseeing chemical and biological warfare in Ukraine. Yesterday, Ukrainian prosecutors charged him with using banned chemical weapons there. The UN says there's earthquake damage in the South Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu. UN officials have unconfirmed reports at least six people have been injured or killed. A quake with a magnitude of 7.3 hit the island. It is more than a thousand miles east of Australia. The Library of Congress is out with its latest list of

25 movies to be preserved in the National Film Registry. As NPR's Neda Ulubi reports, this year's editions span more than a century of filmmaking. The list always includes wildly popular movies. This year one is the comedy Beverly Hills Cop starring Eddie Murphy. You know this is the cleanest and nicest police car I've ever been in in my life. The 1984 hit joins two dozen others that represent the breadth and depth of American film. The oldest movie on this year's list is a silent short from 1895 that shows a twirling dancer. The most recent, from 2010, is The social network, based on Facebook's creation. In between documentaries, film noir, student films, and the low-budget horror classic,

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Nettie Ullipie, NPR News. And I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News from Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast NPR News from Washington.