NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-18-2024 9PM EST

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The leader of opposition forces in Syria says all rebel factions in the country are being dissolved. NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi reports from Damascus. The announcement follows the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by the rebels less than two weeks ago. The leader of Ha'yaa 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. Hadil Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Damascus. Former Congressman Matt Gaetz in a social media post is acknowledging he, quote, probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than he should have in his 30s. However, in his response to reports, the House Ethics Committee has voted to release the findings from its probe into allegations of sex trafficking and illicit drug use, Gaetz saying he did not do anything criminal. Gaetz also denied having sex with anyone under the age of 18. One of the allegations against him was he paid an underage girl for sex.

NPR has not independently confirmed the reporting on the release of the House Ethics Committee report. The Environmental Protection Agency has granted California permission to impose stricter regulations on emissions from cars and trucks. The Biden administration was expected to grant that approval before the new Trump administration takes office. As NPR's Kamila Dominovsky reports, it's setting up a big fight over the rules over the next few years. California uniquely can ask permission to write its own air quality rules and other states can choose to follow them. The Biden EPA just granted two waivers, one allowing California to set stricter tailpipe

rules for big trucks and another letting the state require all new passenger cars be zero emission by 2035. Trump campaigned against EV mandates and is expected to revoke that waiver, setting up a legal fight. Climate and clean air advocates celebrate California's rules. The oil industry fiercely opposes them. And the big automaker trade group says it would, quote, take a miracle to achieve them. Kamila Dominovski, NPR News. The Commerce Department's efforts so far at preventing China and Russia from accessing advanced computer chips may have been quote inadequate and will need more funding if it's hoped to prevent those countries from manufacturing advanced weaponry. Funding comes from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Export controls were put in place limiting

China and Russia's ability to access advanced ships after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Now, soon by the Federal Reserve, it is likely to put in place fewer interest rate cuts next year than previously expected, since stocks tumbling today the Dow down more than 1,100 points. You're listening to NPR. A federal judge who presided over the seditious conspiracy case against members of the group Oath Keepers is weighing in. U.S. District Judge Amit Madhav saying it would be quote frightening if the anti-government

group's founder Stuart Rhodes is pardoned for orchestrating a violent plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after he lost the 2020 election. The judge criticizing the prospect of Rhodes being given a presidential pardon during a sentencing hearing today. President-elect Trump is repeatedly vowed to pardon riders who stormed the Capitol. Rhodes is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence. David Mallet, the Maine folk musician known for his iconic song about how to make a garden grow has died at the age of 73.

That's according to his son, Maine public radio is Ari Schneider, as more. Mallet was born and raised in the small, rural town of Sebec in central Maine. His musical career began early. By the age of 11, he was singing in a folk duo with his older brother. He went on to record 17 albums over the course of his decades-long career.

Inch by inch, and row by row, gonna make this garden grow. His hit Garden Song, a gentle ballad about tending seeds with a rake, a hoe, and a piece of fertile ground, was recorded by the likes of Pete Seeger and immortalized Mallet in the American folk canon. Mallet lived most of his life in Maine and much of his music was inspired by the people and landscapes of the pine tree state. For NPR News, I'm Ari Snyder in Portland, Maine. Crude oil futures prices settled modestly higher, oil up 50 cents a barrel to end the session at $7.58 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.