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

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. At least three people are dead and six others are injured following a mass shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. City Police Chief Sean Barnes says a teenager and a teacher were among those killed in Monday's attack. In 57 a.m., a second grade student called 911 to report a shooting had occurred at school. Don't let that soak in for a minute. Barnes says the shooter was a 15-year-old girl who appears to have died from a self-inflicted

gunshot wound. He says authorities are still trying to figure out a motive for the attack. TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, are asking the Supreme Court to block a law that would ban the app in the US next month. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, a federal appeals court upheld the law earlier this month. It's seen as TikTok's last legal shot.

It has asked the Supreme Court to step in and halt a law that bans TikTok nationwide, unless Beijing-based ByteDance divests the app. In its application, TikTok says Congress has singled out TikTok, saying banning the app would violate the First Amendment rights of 170 million American users. While the viral video app waits for a decision from the high court, President-elect Donald Trump has been indicating he may rescue TikTok. Trump once opposed TikTok, but he recently said it has a warm spot in his heart, but did not explain how he might step in to save the app. Analysts say there are many ways Trump can keep TikTok in business in the U.S., including instructing his administration to not enforce the law.

Bobby Allen, NPR News. President-elect Donald Trump's conviction of falsifying business records allegedly to hide a hush money payment to a porn star during his 2016 campaign. Trump maintains he is innocent and no sentencing date was scheduled after the verdict was issued last May. The future of the case is unclear in wake of a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. President-elect Trump says the government is not disclosing all it knows about reported drone sightings in the Northeast. As NPR's Joe Rose reports, those comments were part of a wide-ranging press conference Monday at Mar-a-Lago.

There have been thousands of reported sightings of unexplained drones in New Jersey and elsewhere in recent weeks. The Biden administration says there is no evidence of a threat to the public and that many of the unexplained sightings are likely manned aircraft. in recent weeks. The Biden administration says there is no evidence of a threat to the public and that many of the unexplained sightings are likely manned aircraft.

Still, President-elect Trump is accusing the administration of keeping Americans in the dark about what the drones are. Our military knows and our president knows, and for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense. Trump declined to say whether he has received an intelligence briefing on the drones. U.S. military officials have CNN CORRESPONDENT, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN,

TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRNN, TRN, Beginning in September 2027, new passenger vehicles must be equipped with sensors that make a sound when rear seat passengers have not fastened their seat belts. The National Transportation Safety Board says the warning sound will last longer when front seat passengers are not buckled up. The agency estimates that seat belt use saves at least 50 lives a year and prevent hundreds of injuries. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote

of confidence in parliament on Monday, setting the stage for a snap election in February. The tales from NPR's Rob Schmitz in Berlin. Today's vote puts an end to Scholz's fractious government at a time when Europe's biggest economy is under strain from Russia's war on Ukraine and from increased competition from China. Scholz's defeat paves the way for the dissolution of parliament ahead of early elections scheduled for February 23rd. Going into the short winter election campaign, the center-right Christian Democratic Union Party is polling first, followed by the far-right AFD party and Schulz's own social Democrats.

The collapse of Schulz's three-party coalition government came in early November when Schultz fired his finance minister after months of debate over how to revitalize Germany's stagnant economy. Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Berlin. Canadian opposition leader Jack Mead Singh is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down. The move follows the resignation of Canada's finance minister, Christophe Freeland, one of Trudeau's most loyal cabinet officials. Freeland has been replaced by Canada's public safety minister, Dominique LeBlanc. U.S. futures are lower in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR News.