NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-19-2024 11AM EST

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

NPR News: 12-19-2024 11AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

What happens to democracy when one political party has near complete power? That's the question at the heart of Supermajority, the series The New Yorker just named one of the 10 best podcasts of 2024. Listen and hear what all the hype is about. It's season 19 of NPR's Embedded Podcast. Live from NPR News in Washington, on Korova Coleman, the suspect accused of killing United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson has agreed to be extradited to New York. Suspect Luigi Mangione appeared this morning in a Central Pennsylvania courtroom after

his arrest last week in Altoona. Mangione is facing first and second degree murder charges that also include alleged terrorism. His lawyer had initially said Mangione would fight extradition. A Georgia state appeals court has ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis cannot continue prosecuting President-elect Trump on state charges of election interference. This is in connection with the 2020 presidential election. Trump had sought to disqualify Willis after she was accused of having an inappropriate election interference. This is in connection with the 2020 presidential election. Trump had sought to disqualify Willis after she was accused of having an inappropriate relationship

with a special prosecutor in the case. However, the overall case against Trump has not been dismissed. The federal government is facing a partial shutdown starting late tomorrow night. That comes after Republican lawmakers turned back a bipartisan government spending bill yesterday to keep the government running. The measure had just been unveiled this week, but President-elect Trump demanded that GOP lawmakers torpedo the bill, saying it should not give anything to Democrats. But Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin says the bill provides billions of dollars in relief aid to Americans.

There have been natural disasters. There have been terrible disasters like the Baltimore Bridge, Francis Scott Key Bridge that came down in an accident that interrupted the commerce on the East Coast. He spoke to MSNBC. Trump has been backed by his ally and billionaire Elon Musk, who excoriated lawmakers online. The Teamsters Union says it has launched strikes today at Amazon facilities across the country. The union claims the online retailer has failed to bargain over a new contract.

As NPR's Andrea Hsu reports, the strikes come less than a week before Christmas and Hanukah. The Teamsters say a mix of workers, including pickers and packers and third-party delivery drivers, will be picketing seven Amazon facilities in and around Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago and New York City. Additionally, more pickets could form at other Amazon facilities where workers have not yet authorized strikes. Patricia Campos-Modina, executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell, says any disruption at this time of year could be damaging to the company.

It is the holiday season. People are expecting deliveries. This is the moment that the workers have influence over the supply chain. For its part, Amazon disputes the Teamsters claim that it represents thousands of their workers. Andrea Hsu and PR News. and thousands of their workers. Andrea Hsu, NPR News. A French court has convicted more than 50 men in connection with a horrific rape case. A man drugged his then-wife and invited strangers to rape her while she was unconscious. This happened for more than a decade. The court sentenced the man to 20 years in prison. You're listening to NPR. A new study finds America's classrooms have become less diverse in recent years when it comes to teachers.

NPR's Janaki Mehta has more. Up until 2020, the diversity of teachers was outpacing other workers with college degrees. Then something changed. Now more people of color with college degrees are either leaving the classroom or opting out of pursuing teaching. That's according to new data from the National Council on Teacher Quality. There could be lots of potential reasons, like low pay or inequitable hiring practices, and teachers have a lot of added responsibilities.

For educators of color, that can include mentoring students of color or interpreting for their families. Last week, Democratic congressmen Dick Durbin and Matthew Cartwright wrote to the Secretary of Education, urging the department to start collecting data on the diversity of the educator workforce. They highlighted that students of color with at least one teacher of the same race often have improved academic performance

and graduation rates. Janaki Mehta and Peer News. The Montana Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that state policies have violated young people's right to a clean environment. This is the first youth-led climate change case to go to trial in the U.S. The decision means that Montana state agencies must consider climate effects when reviewing proposed development projects. A New York man who was gardening in his yard earlier this year found two giant teeth from

an ancient mastodon. Researchers who checked it out then discovered an entire mastodon jawbone. They say they're searching to see if they can find any more bone fragments. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.