NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-19-2024 2PM EST

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

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Ho, ho, ho! Santa here, coming to you from the North Pole. We're the elves in our podcast division of just completed work on this season's best gift for public radio lovers, NPR+. Give the gift of sponsored free listening and even bonus episodes from your favorite NPR podcasts, all while supporting public media. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Ha, ha, ho, ho, ho! Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

Luigi Mangione set to appear in federal court in New York City this hour. The U.S. government is adding to the litany of charges Mangione faces in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. NPR's Sarah Ventry has the latest. The federal charges include murder and two counts of stalking. The unsealed complaint filed in the Southern District of New York includes a timeline of Mangione's alleged movements. It states that the shooter, quote, undertook extensive efforts to identify the victim, place the victim under surveillance, and track

the victim's whereabouts. In a statement, Mangione's attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo says the federal government's decision to, quote, pile on top of an already overcharged first degree murder and state terror case is highly unusual and raises serious constitutional and statutory double jeopardy concerns. Sarah Ventry, NPR News, New York. The federal government is facing the prospect of a shutdown just days before Christmas in Hanukkah.

House Speaker Mike Johnson once again finds himself in conflict with other Republicans, including President-elect Trump over his support of a bipartisan spending bill that would extend funding to mid-March. Trump and allies say they want a streamlined bill over his support of a bipartisan spending bill that would extend funding to mid-March. Trump and allies say they want a streamlined bill that does not give the Democrats, quote, everything they want. The current measure expires at the end of tomorrow.

Now to Syria, where NPR's Jane Araf is getting a firsthand look at life in the Capitol less than two weeks after dictator Bashar al-Assad was deposed. Damascus itself, of course, has changed quite dramatically. I mean, just a couple of minutes ago, there were a bunch of sixth graders who were jumping up and down on a bronze statue of toppled leader Bashar al-Assad's head. That's NPR's Jane Arraff. The civil war is over, but there's still some fighting. This week, the HDS rebel leader said all fighters will be disbanded and become part of the country's defense ministry. South Korea's spy agency

estimates that 100 North Korean troops have been killed in combat in Russia and roughly a thousand injured. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul, the U.S. and Ukraine have made similar claims, but none have presented conclusive evidence. South Korea's National Intelligence Service reported to a parliamentary intelligence committee that the North Korean troops suffer from a lack of combat experience, especially in fighting against drones. It adds that the casualties include several high-ranking officers. Ukrainian video footage purports to show drones swooping down on soldiers running through snowy fields, but it's not clear from the videos to which country the troops belong.

Ukraine claims that North Korea has deployed some 11,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region, where they're trying to retake territory occupied by Ukraine. Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow has admitted to the deployment. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. It's NPR. In Georgia, the Fulton County DA is off the racketeering case against President-elect Trump. Today, the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified District Attorney Fannie Willis from continuing to prosecute the 2020 election subversion case. However, the court declined to dismiss the case itself. Fulton County

prosecutors quickly decided to notify the appeals court that they intend to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court. Trump is not likely to stand trial for racketeering until 2029 if ever. This Georgia case represents the last remaining criminal charges against Trump. In Brazil, Congress has passed a bill that limits the use of mobile phones in schools across Latin America's biggest nation. Julia Cardener reports from Rio de Janeiro. The bill bans the use of cell phones and tablets in schools all over Brazil. Students will only be able to use electronic devices if they're required for class activities

in cases of disability or in exceptional circumstances. Proponents argue excessive screen time is detrimental to youth's learning, interaction and mental health. A UNESCO report says nearly one in every four countries have restricted the use of cell phones in schools. The Brazilian bill now awaits President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's signature. He's expected to sign it, putting the law on track to come into effect next semester. For NPR News, I'm Júlia Carneiro in Rio de Janeiro.

The Dow is up more than 300 points, or nearly three-quarters of a percent. This is NPR News.