NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-17-2024 4PM EST

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

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For every headline, there's also another story about the people living those headlines. On weekdays, Up First brings you the day's biggest news. On Sundays, we bring you closer with a single story about the people, places, and moments reshaping our world. Your news made personal every Sunday on the Up First podcast from NPR. Liveakhshmi Singh Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakhshmi Singh. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's alleged killer is now charged in New York with one count of murder in the first degree and two counts of murder in the second degree, including one count of murder as an act of terrorism. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin

Bragg alleges that Luigi Mangione arrived in New York City a few days before Thanksgiving, checked into a hostel with a fake ID, then days later traveled to Midtown Manhattan Hotel and waited outside for his target, Brian Thompson, to arrive. We allege he then took out a 9mm 3D printed ghost gun equipped with a 3D printed suppressor, and shot him once in the back and once in the leg. Bragg later noted that the NYPD is encountering more and more ghost guns that he says are un-serialized and printed out and are just as deadly as traditional guns.

New York is still waiting to get Mangione extradited from Pennsylvania where he was arrested earlier this month. The chief of the Madison, Wisconsin Police Department says the first 911 call after yesterday morning's shootings at Abundant Life Christian School came from a second grade teacher, not a second grade student as police initially reported. The mix-up was attributed to misinterpreting a call log. At a news conference today, chief Sean Barnes asked the public for help as they try to find out more about the 15-year-old shooter, Natalie Rupnow. There are always signs of a school shooting before it occurred. Some of you have reached out about Rupnow's social media activity prior to yesterday's

shooting. Officers are investigating whether the shooter had been bullied at the school and whether she had any disciplinary problems. A fellow student and a teacher were killed. Several students and a second teacher were injured. Police say the shooter apparently took her own life. Ukraine's security service says it was behind the killing of a Russian lieutenant general in Moscow.

NPR's Joannika Kisses reports from Kyiv it's the highest profile killing of a Russian military official away from the front line since Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian law enforcement authorities said in a statement that Igor Kirilov and one of his aides were killed after an explosive device planted in a scooter was set off. The scooter was near the entrance to a residential building in southeastern Moscow where Kadylov apparently lived. Ukrainian prosecutors did charge Kadylov on Monday with the use of banned chemical weapons on the front line. Ukraine's security service says Russia has used chemical weapons nearly 5,000 times in the war. Joanna Kekises, NPR News, Kiev. US stocks end the day lower. The Dow closed down 267 points or more than half a percent

to end the day at 43,449. The Nasdaq closed down 64 points and the S&P was down 23 points. From Washington, this is NPR News. There were reports of more possible drones spotted around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, days after the site was closed for hours because of unexplained aerial activity thought to be drones. According to a press release, the latest sightings took place overnight. Similar mysterious drone activities were reported near the airbase last Friday and Saturday. House Intelligence Committee members were scheduled to receive a closed-door security briefing today on drones. A new draft recommendation from a task force of prevention experts concludes

that vitamin D and calcium supplements do not reduce the risk of fractures from a fall. And Piers Allison Aubrey reports the experts reviewed all the evidence. Vitamin D helps our bodies absorb calcium promoting strong bones and muscles. It also supports a healthy immune system. Sunlight is the primary source of vitamin D so reduced exposure during winter months can increase the risk of a deficiency. Supplements may help, but they're not enough to prevent bone breaks or falls as we age. Here's task force member Dr. Gotham Rao, a family medicine doctor at Case Western Reserve University.

That doesn't mean that vitamin D and calcium are not useful overall for bone health, for other functions within the body. Many doctors recommend vitamin D supplements to patients who have insufficient amounts, and more than one in three older adults take them. When it comes to preventing fractures, experts say physical activity, including weight-bearing exercises, can be very effective. Alice Nobri, NPR News. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.