NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-18-2024 10AM EST

Episode Date: December 18, 2024

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Hi, it's Terri Gross from Fresh Air. I just interviewed Billie Eilish and Finneas about many things, including how Billie's signature baggy clothes came from watching hip hop videos. Instead of being jealous of the women who get to be around the hot men, I would be jealous of the hot men. And I wanted to dress like them and I wanted to be able to act like them. Find this Fresh Air interview wherever you listen to podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington on Korova Coleman, the leader of opposition forces in Syria says all rebel factions in the country are being dissolved. And Piers Hadil Al-Shalchi reports from Damascus.

The leader of Haia Al-Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led the revolt against former President Bashar al-Assad, said fighters from different factions will unite under the Syrian Ministry of Defense. Ahmed al-Shar'a, formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, made the comments while visiting the Druze community on Tuesday. The forces that toppled the regime were made up of a number of rebel groups, some backed by foreign countries like Turkey. Shar'a did not detail how this unification would be accomplished. He also called on all Syrians in the country and abroad to help rebuild Syria all as, quote,

team players. Shadr remains a designated terrorist by the United States. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Damascus. Congressional leaders have released details of their bipartisan stopgap spending plan. They need to pass the measure quickly or the federal government will partially shut down late Friday night. It's worth about 100 billion dollars and there is a lot of money set aside to help pay for disaster recovery such as hurricanes. It's expected to pass but MPR's Claudia Cresales says the conservative Freedom Caucus is objecting to the cost

of the legislation. Other conservative Republicans, however, in both chambers called it garbage, quote, reckless spending. So there's enough jam packed in this bill that's causing its share of controversy for some along the way, but many are still betting this bipartisan plan will still survive its critics. NPR's Claudia Grisales reporting. The spending only runs through mid-March.

A storm system is battering the Pacific Northwest. Strong winds are battering Washington state. The tracking site, poweradj.us, says more than 150,000 customers have lost power, mostly in the Puget Sound area. Winter weather advisories and storm warnings are posted east of Seattle. Stocks opened mixed this morning as the Commerce Department delivered a mixed report on home building activity.

NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 150 points in early trading. Builders broke ground on more single-family homes in November than they did the month before, but construction of apartments was down last month. The number of permits for future home construction rose in November. Most the increase in permits was for multi-family apartment buildings.

The U.S. needs to build more homes of all kinds to address the high cost of housing, but building has been weighed down by high borrowing costs. The Federal Reserve is expected to lower short-term interest rates this afternoon by a quarter percentage point. The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates there steady when policymakers meet tomorrow. A government report out today shows inflation in the UK rose last month to 2.6 percent. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's

CEO Brian Thompson. He faces first and second degree murder charges. These include murder as an act of terrorism. Manhattan prosecutors say that's because the alleged murder was intended to intimidate or coerce people. A New York tax preparer has pleaded guilty to bilking the IRS out of $145 million. Rafael Alvarez was called the magician by his clients because he could make their tax burdens lighter. Federal prosecutors say Alvarez accomplished this by lying on his customers' income tax

forms. Researchers in the South are asking for help from the public this winter tracking monarch butterflies. For Member Station WABE in Atlanta, Molly Samuel reports the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to protect monarchs as a threatened species. In the eastern part of the country, monarchs typically migrate to Mexico in the winter, flying through southern states on their way. But some appear to stick around, especially in coastal areas in the south.

Susan Myers, with the group Monarchs Across Georgia, says scientists and butterfly advocates are trying to better understand this. Just how much of the population is staying here, and what are they doing? They're gathering observations from the public on the iNaturalist app and the website, JourneyNorth.org. They say the information could help with monarch conservation in the future. For NPR News, I'm Molly Samuel in Atlanta. And I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News from Washington.