NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-18-2024 12PM EST

Episode Date: December 18, 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. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments January 10th over the constitutionality of the federal law that would ban TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells it. The justices will weigh whether the law infringes on TikTok's First Amendment rights to free speech.

The U.S. governments worry that China could gain access to sensitive data in the U.S. through TikTok. The short video sharing app that's popular around the world has more than 170 million users in the U.S. alone. Congressional leaders released more than 1,500 page bill last night that would fund the federal government through mid-March. NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports this comes just days before funding is about to lapse. The broad legislation includes roughly a hundred billion dollars in federal aid for natural disasters, funding to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed in March, and wide ranging provisions related to health care and consumer

protections. But lawmakers, including various factions of Republicans, are frustrated by Speaker Johnson's handling of the process, the tight turnaround, and the size and scope of the bill. The federal government is on track to shut down at midnight on Friday unless lawmakers pass the legislation and send it to President Biden's desk. Barbara Sprint and Pure News, The Capitol. – Hundreds of programs that provide hospital-level care in patients' homes across the U.S. are at

risk of losing federal coverage at the end of the year. Craig Lamolt of Member Station GBH reports that Congress may renew the waiver that makes those programs possible. The waiver dates back to the COVID pandemic and allows Medicare and Medicaid to pay for care delivered at patients' homes, with visits from doctors and nurses as well as 24-hour virtual monitoring. Nancy Foster of the American Hospital Association says patients don't want to lose access to this kind of care. They like this option. They want this care in their home, where it's more comfortable, American Hospital Association says patients don't want to lose access to this kind of care. They like this option. They want this care in their home where it's more comfortable, where they are surrounded

by their loved ones. So no one wants to take that option away when we know it can be effective for the patients. There are now 378 hospital at home programs in 39 states. For NPR News, I'm Craig Lemault in Boston. The Russian Security Service says an Uzbek national carried out this week's deadly attack on a top Russian general. A source from Ukraine's security service confirmed to NPR that it was behind it. On Monday, Ukraine indicted Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirilov in absentia for allegedly using banned

chemical weapons during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A day later Kirilov and an aide were killed outside the General's home by remotely detonated device. US stocks are trading higher this hour. The Dow is up 153 points. This is NPR News. The FBI's recent advice telling people across the US to stop sending plain text messages on their phones surprised a lot of consumers and led to a lot of questions. NPR's Bill Chappell has some answers. The FBI says the standard texting systems we use every day are far too vulnerable to hackers in China. Texts on Apple and Android phones can be secure, but only if everyone is using the same system

or has the right options turned on. If you think that sounds complicated, so do experts. Here's Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. You shouldn't have to keep track of this stuff. What you should be doing instead is using an end-to-end encrypted app. She recommends using apps like Signal or WhatsApp and to keep your phone's software up to date. Bill Chappell, NPR News. The return of two astronauts who flew to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's

troubled Starliner spacecraft has been delayed yet again. NPR's Giles Snyder reports on what's holding up their homecoming. NASA says this latest holdup has to do with a new SpaceX capsule, saying the agency and SpaceX need more time to be sure it's ready to send a new four-person crew to the International Space Station. The delay means astronauts Butch Wilmore

and Sunny Williams stay at the station has been extended again. Wilmore and Sonny Williams' stay at the station has been extended again. Wilmore and Williams took Boeing's Starliner into space in June for a mission that was only supposed to last a little more than a week. That's NPR's Jiles Snyder reporting. U.S. stocks trading higher this hour. The NASDAQ is up 41 points. The S&Ps gained 12 and the Dow is up 156 points. It's NPR.