NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-19-2024 1AM EST

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

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Live from MPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. Congressional Republicans are sounding mostly optimistic about reaching a new agreement SHAY STEPHENS, WASHINGTON, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS GOP Senator Mitt Romney says GOP lawmakers are awaiting further instruction. The Republicans are, I think, understandably anxious to follow the direction of the new president, but he hasn't indicated what he wants us to do, either to shut down government or to vote for the CR, one or the other. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffrey says it is up to Republicans. Republicans will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people that results

from a government shutdown or worse. Current government spending for most federal agencies runs out at midnight Friday. The House Ethics Committee has voted to release its report on former Congressman Matt Gaetz. The panel's probe into sexual misconduct allegations ended last month when the former Florida Republican resigned and became the nominee to become U.S. Attorney General. Gaetz denies any wrongdoing. The Federal Reserve Board has cut its benchmark interest rate by another quarter percentage point.

As NPRPR Scott Horsey reports, the Fed is now hinting at fewer rate cuts next year. This was the central bank's third rate cut since September, but with stubborn inflation still hovering above the Fed's target of 2 percent, policymakers may be cautious about additional rate cuts in the new year. Forecasts released show on average members of the Fed's rate-setting committee now expect rates to fall by another half percentage point in 2025, down from the full point drop they were projecting back in September. Fed officials feel like they can afford to move cautiously since the overall economy and the job market have held up well in the face of high borrowing costs. Economists have also warned some of the policies of the incoming Trump administration, such as tariffs and mass deportation,

could make it harder to bring inflation under control. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. California has declared a state of emergency following the nation's first severe human case of bird flu. NPR's Will Stone reports. The person was exposed to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks before falling ill. Genetic sequencing shows the virus was part of a genetic lineage that's been circulating in wild birds and poultry. It's also what led to the hospitalization of a teenager in British Columbia, Canada.

This version of H5N1 is different than what's spreading in dairy cattle, which has caused most of the human infections in the U.S. Those have led to mild illness in agricultural workers. CDC health officials say there's still no evidence of person-to-person spread of the virus, and they say the risk to the general public remains low. Will Stone, NPR News. U.S. futures are flat in after hours trading on Wall Street.

This is NPR. The Justice Department has unsealed a civil complaint alleging CVS Pharmacy and various subsidiaries filled prescriptions that were not allowed by law, including opioids. The complaint accuses the pharmacy chain and the others of violating the False Claims Act. A CVS representative says the company disagrees with the complaint and has cooperated with investigators. with the complaint and has cooperated with investigators. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to one year in prison after losing a final appeal

of his fraud conviction. NPR's Eleanor Beersley reports that he'll be allowed to wear an electronic bracelet instead of being incarcerated. France's highest appeals court confirmed a lower court's verdict against former President Nicolas Sarkozy for corruption and influence peddling. He and his lawyer were convicted of forming a corruption pact with a judge to share confidential information with them regarding another case involving Sarkozy. That case was about using false billing to go over the legal spending limits for his 2012 re-election bid. The conviction is a first for a former French president. Sarkozy says he will respect the French court's decision, but plans to appeal to the European

Court of Human Rights. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Avignon, France. Montana's highest court has upheld a finding that permitting oil, gas and coal projects without first considering global warming was unconstitutional. Wednesday's 6-1 ruling upheld an August 2023 state judge's decision in a case brought by young environmentalists claiming the state violated their right to a clean environment. This is NPR News.