NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-18-2024 7AM EST

Episode Date: December 18, 2024

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Otograph 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 Corva Coleman. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates today by as much as a quarter of a percentage point. But inflation is a factor. Higher interest rates can help slow down consumer prices. But NPR's Scott Horsley says higher rates can also be a drag on the economy.

So, the Fed is trying to strike a balance here. Markets are betting the Fed is going to lower interest rates today and then after that maybe take a break and see how things play out. NPR's Scott Horsley reporting. A Manhattan grand jury has indicted Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO Brian Thompson this month. He faces first and second degree murder counts. These include murder as an act of terrorism.

Manhattan prosecutors say that's because the alleged murder was intended to intimidate or coerce people. New York officials are trying to extradite Mangione from central Pennsylvania, where he's been arrested. Mourners held a candlelight vigil last night in Madison, Wisconsin, for the victims of Monday's shooting at a religious school. Police say a teenaged girl killed two people and wounded six others before killing herself. NPR's Kitty Arittle reports experts say the shooter's gender is unusual.

Though there have been hundreds of mass killings with guns in the past few decades, there have been very few female shooters. Jonathan Metzl is a researcher who studies gun violence at Vanderbilt University. He says the shooter's gender is unusual, but it is not the most important piece of information in this case. On one hand, I think it's notable, but I also think it's in a way, you know, tragically an expected outcome of what we've done in this country, which is just to make it a lot easier for people to get guns.

The more people who have access to guns, says Metzl, the more demographic types of people can use guns. Katie Ariddle, NPR News. There is some momentum in ceasefire talks for Gaza, but there are also mixed feelings about what it could mean if Israel and Hamas agree to a step-by-step plan to end their 14-month long war. And Piers Michelle Kellerman has more from Tel Aviv.

Families of the hostages held by Hamas are sounding worried that the deal will bring only some of the 100 hostages home in exchange for Palestinian detainees released from Israeli jails, and their loved ones may be left behind. Palestinians fear that the ceasefire and hostage deal will be temporary and they won't be able to return to their homes in the north. A source close to the negotiations tells NPR that the step-by-step plan will get women and elderly hostages out first with

a six to seven week ceasefire to allow vital aid into Gaza. Meanwhile, a right-wing member of Israel's cabinet, Betzalel Smotrich, says it would be a mistake to release any Palestinians or remove troops from northern Gaza. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News Tel Aviv. On Wall Street stock, futures are higher. This is NPR. The leader of the main Syrian opposition force says all Syrian rebel groups are going to dissolve.

The rebel leader says they'll unite under the office of Syria's defense ministry. He didn't explain how. Many different factions had formed to oppose the now toppled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A new study finds aquatic creatures of very different sizes swim at the same relative depth when they're traveling long distances. And Beers Jonathan Lambert explains how the strategy helps animals maximize energy efficiency. Penguin, sea turtles, and whales all swim long distances at depths about two to three

times the diameter of their body, according to research published in the journal PNAS. This zone represents a theoretical sweet spot where animals can avoid making waves at the surface, which slows them down, while minimizing the extra energy it'd take to dive deeper and repeatedly come up for air. While researchers had long proposed this sweet spot using physics, it had never been shown in such a variety of animals in the wild until now. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. Former mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor says he is in talks to hold an exhibition fight with YouTube star turned boxer Logan Paul. Logan Paul's brother Jake Paul won a match last month with former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson.

That bout was shown by Netflix, which claimed it streamed to millions of households. Conor McGregor is also facing a civil judgment in Ireland. This is for sexually assaulting a woman in 2018. Conor McGregor has denied the allegation. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.