NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-19-2024 4PM EST

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

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Oh, oh, oh, 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 plus 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 dot NPR dot org. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel earlier this month was arraigned today on federal murder, weapons, and stalking charges

in New York. Prosecutors say handwritten pages found in Luigi Mangione's possession expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and particularly wealthy executives. WPSU's Sydney Roach reports Mangione was extradited this morning from Pennsylvania. Since Mangione now has legal counsel in New York, his Pennsylvania lawyer says he was comfortable

releasing him to New York police. Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks says they will continue to assist the New York investigation. It would have been laughable and a waste of resources and time for us to try to keep this defendant here for our charges and delay New York's custody of the defendant for the more serious case. Mangione waived his preliminary hearing for his Pennsylvania charges, pushing it off until February.

He did not enter any police for those charges, which include gun and forgery offenses. For NPR News, I'm Sydney Roach in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Steve Pace, a former FBI Supervisory Special Agent now in academia, says concerns about supporters disrupting Mangione's transfer appear to account in part for the large law enforcement presence around him when he arrived in New York City today. Given the high profile nature of the case and some of the public sentiment in terms of support for, I guess, what we would call vigilanteism, this is potentially ripe for someone to interfere with this transport and make a name for themselves.

Danielle Pletka Steve Pace is a professor with the Criminal Justice Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He was also an FBI Supervisory Special Agent. He spoke with NPR. Although the Syrian regime has fallen, there is still fighting in some parts of the country after a ceasefire broke down yesterday. In the northeast, Turkish-backed Syrian fighters have been pushing back U.S. ally Kurdish-led fighters. And Piers Janeraf filed this report from southeast of the city of Manbij during a lull in the conflict. Piers Janeraf I'm standing here on the banks of the Euphrates River next to a base that has been taken over from Kurdish-led forces by the

Syrian fighters here who helped topple the Syrian regime two weeks ago. This is one of the areas that is a conflict within a conflict that's been raging for years. On one side Syrian-led forces backed by the U.S. And on this side, the Syrian fighters who are backed by Turkey. But what happens here will play a big role in whether this new Syria holds together. Jane Aruff, NPR News in Northeastern Syria. You're listening to NPR News. A state of emergency is in effect in California in connection with bird flu. It's been spreading among dairy cows in the state.

The virus, type A H5N1, has also infected dozens of people in multiple states. With online shopping in full swing in the run-up to Christmas in Hanukkah, the e-retail giant Amazon is confronting this. A strike involving thousands of unionized workers at multiple facilities across the country including major cities like New York City. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which says it represents nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, argues

workers are angry Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline. The union set for contract negotiations. The Tony Award-winning team behind the musical The Band's Visit is bringing a new show to Broadway, Dead Outlaw. Here's Jeff London. Jeff London Based on a true story, Dead Outlaw tells the macabre tale of a hapless early 20th century criminal whose dead body is mummified and becomes a sideshow attraction. As odd as it may seem, the musical was a hit with audiences and critics off-Broadway last season.

Your mama's dead, your daddy's dead, your brother's dead, and so are you. The New York Drama Critics Circle, Off-Broadway Alliance, and Drama Desk all named it Best Musical. Its April opening on Broadway is part of a busy season. An adaptation of the indie film Real Women Have Curves and a staged version of the Buena Vista Social Club have announced spring openings as well. It's NPR.