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

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

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Hey everybody, it's time to join NPR's All Songs Considered as we celebrate a very tolerable Christmas with a mix of seasonal songs and special guests. Yeah, we're in for like the saddest Christmas ever, stuck with Robin, who is basically a lump of coal in the shape of a man. Hear new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday, wherever you get podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. The U.S. government has charged Luigi Mangione with four counts of federal charges in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The charges, which include murder, also provide new details in the lead-up to the death of

Thompson earlier this month. Among them, Angioni reportedly had possession of a notebook that contained several handwritten pages that express hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives in particular. He was extradited today from Pennsylvania where he was arrested and arrived in New York State via a government airplane a short time ago He boarded an NYPD helicopter for what was expected to be a 40-minute flight from Long Island to Manhattan Mangione also faces state charges including both first and second-degree murder as an act of terrorism and he also faces charges in

Pennsylvania a Georgia appeals court has ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from the election interference case involving President-elect Donald Trump and 14 other people but the court declined to dismiss the case itself as WABE Sam Greenglass reports from Atlanta. The three-judge panel reversed a trial court ruling voting 2-1 to disqualify Willis and her office. Concluding her personal relationship with a special prosecutor created an appearance

of impropriety. The decision will likely be appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court. If the state high court takes the case and upholds this ruling, it'll fall to the head of a Georgia prosecutor's counsel to appoint a replacement. The Georgia case represents the last remaining criminal charges against Trump. While he's unlikely to face trial until 2029, if at all, his 14 remaining co-defendants could go before a judge next year. For NPR News, I'm Sam Greenglass in Atlanta. And we've just learned that as expected, Fulton County prosecutors quickly notify the appeals court that they intend to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.

The federal government again finds itself on the verge of a shutdown. President-elect Trump making an 11th hour demand fueled by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to block the bipartisan bill that House Speaker Mike Johnson supported. Representative Andy Harris, a Republican chairman of the House Freedom Caucus sides with Trump. I'm still supportive of the speaker but I will tell you that voices both inside the House Freedom Caucus and outside the Freedom Caucus have been very disappointed at what's happened this week. Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries issued this rebuke. That bipartisan agreement has now

been detonated because House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government. The stopgap measure Trump once scuttled would keep agencies funded through mid-March. The current measure expires tomorrow night. From Washington, this is NPR News. In the U.S., sales of existing homes rebounded somewhat in November, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors. And Piers Laurel Wamsley reports that uptick is a highlight in a very slow year for the housing market.

It's tough out there for home buyers, and that's been reflected in sluggish sales this year. 2024 is on track to be the slowest for existing home sales in nearly 30 years. But in November, sales bounced higher, about 5% above October and more than 6% compared to a year earlier. More inventory is giving shoppers more choice, and more buyers appear to be resigning themselves to mortgage rates between 6 and 7%. First-time buyers comprised 30% of sales last month. The median existing home sales price rose to $406,000.

Laurel Wamsley, NPR News. The Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision on a lawsuit about climate change. Here's Montana Public Radio's Ellis Julin. The Montana Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court ruling that said the state's fossil fuel-friendly policies, along with a lack of action to address climate change, have violated the plaintiff's constitutional right to a clean environment. This was the first youth-led climate case to go to trial in the U.S. Olivia Vesevich is one of the plaintiffs. She's been involved with this case for the last five years. Hope is something we work towards, and that is what this case has been. We have fought

to have our voices heard. This decision means that state agencies must now consider the greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts of any proposed development project. Because it involves the state constitution, this ruling is the final decision. It cannot be appealed to a federal court. For NPR News, I'm Ellis Ju Lin in Missoula, Montana. It's NPR News.