NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-18-2024 6AM EST

Episode Date: December 18, 2024

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Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. Congressional leaders have released details of a bipartisan stopgap spending bill. It would avert a partial federal government shutdown late Friday night. NPR's Claudia Gersalas reports the proposal also includes significant disaster aid.

The legislation would extend government funding until mid-March 2025. It follows days of intense negotiations between leaders for House Republicans and Senate Democrats. And it starts the clock for both chambers to vote on the plan by week's end. It includes about $100 billion in federal aid for natural disaster recovery and more funds to rebuild from the Maui fires and damage caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton. It also gives a one-year extension to the Farm Bill, a five-year plan that sets agriculture and food policies.

Finally, it includes funding to rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Claudia Grisales, NPR News, The Capitol. President-elect Trump has tapped former football star player Herschel Walker to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas. Walker ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in Georgia two years ago. A Manhattan grand jury has indicted the suspect in the killing of United Health Care's CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. Luigi Mangione faces several charges, including first and second degree murder. From member station WNYC, Samantha Max says there's another accusation. Some of these murder charges allege that the killing was committed in furtherance of terrorism.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg called the shooting brazen and said it was meant to cause shock and intimidation. Samantha Max reporting. Mangione is still being held in central Pennsylvania. New York officials are trying to extradite him. Mourners attended a prayer service last night near the Madison, Wisconsin religious school where a student killed two other people and herself. Wisconsin public radio's Anya Van Wachtendonk has more.

Mourners walked through the dark towards a city church located next door to Abundant Life Christian School. Just one day earlier, a student at that school shot and killed a fellow student and a teacher. Inside the church, performers and speakers offered music and prayer. Lisa Haney teaches middle school at Abundant Life. She asked for faith and understanding. God, I don't know how to still inquire my own soul because it's going crazy right now on the inside of me. The shooter was a 15-year-old girl who also died. Madison police say they're still investigating her motives. For NPR News, I'm Anjumah Wagtendonk in Madison. Policymakers for the Federal Reserve and their two-day meeting today.

They could lower interest rates by another quarter point, but they're also watching inflation. It has not slowed down as much as they would like it to. You're listening to NPR News. The Pentagon says it has sent back three detainees held at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Two were repatriated to Malaysia.

A third was sent to Kenya. The two Malaysian detainees worked with an Al-Qaeda affiliate responsible for deadly bombings in Southeast Asia. The third belonged to Al-Qaeda's branch in East Africa. The Venerable Children's Program, Sesame Street, is again looking for a new home after splitting from Max, formerly known as HBO. The program was previously with PBS. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports,

Max will discontinue streaming new episodes of Sesame Street after next season. In a statement, Max says that new episodes of Sesame Street are no longer core to its strategy, but it will rerun old episodes through 2027. -♪ Sunny days sweepin' up clouds away. A lot of Sesame Street's educational content is evergreen, but it's also known for talking about current issues

in ways kids can understand and reaching underserved audiences. Polly Conway is senior editor for TV and streaming at Common Sense Media. Finding a new home is going to be integral to them creating new content and really reaching the audiences that need to be reached. In a statement, Sesame Workshop says it plans to announce new distribution plans in the coming months. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

Forecasters have posted fresh warnings about powerful winds today in a part of Southern California. It's where a sudden wildfire broke out last week northwest of Los Angeles. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News.