NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-19-2024 3PM 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. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's alleged killer has been arraigned in Manhattan on federal charges of murder, stalking, and interstate travel and carrying out a crime. Luigi Mangione also faces state charges of first and second degree murder in New York. The 26-year-old was extradited from Pennsylvania, where he's also been charged. Blair County

District Attorney Peter Weeks says the New York case takes precedence. Because of the defendant's reversal today and decision to waive his preliminary hearing, as well as his extradition, certainly we believe it's in the interest of justice to turn him over to the New York City Police Department and Manhattan District Attorney's Office, which we did. The U.S. government released new details about the lead-up to Mangione's alleged attack on Thompson. Among them, he reportedly had possession of handwritten pages expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and in particular, wealthy executives. Thousands of Amazon workers are expected to join strikes across the country.

The Teamsters Union pressing the retail giant to recognize its unionized workers. And note that Amazon is among NPR's financial supporters. The strikes have gotten underway during the holiday shopping rush. NPR's Alina Sully reports this could be the biggest union action yet against Amazon. Workers at seven Amazon facilities were expected to lead the strike. The Teamsters union named warehouses and delivery hubs in areas around the cities of Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. The union says it's setting up picket lines at hundreds more Amazon facilities, though

it's not clear how many workers exactly plan to walk off their jobs. It's also not clear how long the strike will go. The union only said more than a day. Amazon for now says it's not seeing any impact on operations. It continues to focus on getting shoppers their holiday orders. It also alleges strike participants are outsiders rather than staff. That's NPR's Alina Seljuk reporting. In southern France, the verdicts have been handed down in a mass rape trial that shocked

the country and attracted media attention from around the globe. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley has more from Avignon. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News Anchor Crowds gathered outside the court as Dominique Pelico, the man who recruited candidates on the internet and organized and filmed his wife being raped got the maximum sentence of 20 years But some of the 50 other men received lighter sentences depending on their personal circumstances It's so shameful says mother of three Vigdus Herrera who was in the crowd it shows our society accepts this But Giselle Pellico the victim turned hero, said she accepted

the verdict by insisting that the trial be open to the public and media had produced the debates in society that were needed. Pelico was cheered as she waded into the crowd. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News. A former top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams has now been charged with bribery conspiracy. Today, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Ingrid Lewis Martin, her son Glenn Martin II, and two business associates were charged. Lewis Martin, who was the chief advisor to the mayor, is accused of unlawfully using her position

to help real estate developers gain quick approval for projects. Scientists are declaring victory in a five-year battle against an invasive giant hornet that threatened agriculture in the Pacific Northwest. Jason Pagano with member station KUOW has more from Seattle. Jason Pagano Federal and Washington state authorities say it's been three years since the last confirmed sighting of a northern giant hornet, also known as the murder hornet.

On Wednesday, they declared that the aggressive invasive species had been eradicated from the U.S. Sven-Erik Spiesjager with Washington State's Pest Program says tipsters played a big role. Every time a hornet was flying around and visiting somebody's window, we seem to get a call about it. We even got a call about one visiting somebody's doorbell cam. And you know that helped direct us to the nests and take them out. The northern giant hornet can destroy a hive of honeybees in under two hours

and would pose a major risk to pollinators and crops if they caught on. Officials in neighboring British Columbia where the hornet was first spotted in 2019 declared the species eradicated earlier this year. For NPR News, I'm Jason Pagano in Seattle. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 140 points at 42,467. This is NPR.