NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-19-2024 6AM EST

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

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Otograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kora Vakulman. The federal government may partially shut down late tomorrow night. That's because a bipartisan funding bill has been thrown out at the very last minute. Yesterday, President-elect Trump threatened every Republican lawmaker who supported it with a primary challenge. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is furious. Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt everyday Americans

all across this country. Republicans were also hammered online by Trump ally and billionaire Elon Musk. They say the bill's laden with too much money for Democratic interests. But the spending bill's failure means there is no additional money to help cope with natural disasters, such as hurricanes, or desperately needed aid for American farmers. The Teamsters Union says it's launching strikes this morning at Amazon facilities across the country. The union claims the retailer has failed to bargain over a new contract.

NPR's Andrea Hsu reports the strikes come less than a week before Christmas and Hanukkah. The Teamsters say a mix of workers, including pickers and packers and third-party delivery drivers, will be picketing seven Amazon facilities in and around Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago, and New York City. Additionally, more pickets could form at other Amazon facilities where workers have not yet authorized strikes. Patricia Campos-Medina, executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell, says any

disruption at this time of year could be damaging to the company. It is the holiday season. People are expecting deliveries. This is the moment that the workers have influence over the supply chain. For its part, Amazon disputes the Teamsters' claim that it represents thousands of their workers. Andrea Hsu and PR News. A leading human rights group accuses Israel of deliberately depriving Palestinians in Gaza

of water. Human Rights Watch is calling on countries around the world to pressure Israel to abide by international law. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports that Israel denies the charges, calling them appalling lies and blood libel. In a lengthy report, Human Rights Watch describes how Israel, in its words, decimated the health care system in Gaza and badly damaged the water and sanitation infrastructure in the 14-month war. The group studied satellite imagery as well as videos of Israeli soldiers demolishing a key water reservoir, says Lama Faki, director of the Middle East Division at Human Rights

Watch. What we have found is that the Israeli government is intentionally killing Palestinians in Gaza by denying them the water that they need to survive. She says this may amount to acts of genocide. Israel has rejected such accusations and says it's in a war against Hamas in Gaza and not its residents. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News Tel Aviv. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A court in France has convicted a man of drugging his former wife and inviting at least 50 men

to rape her over the course of a decade. The court sentenced Dominique Pellicot to the maximum 20 years in prison. Another 47 men were also convicted of rape and four others on related charges. They have also been sentenced. In the U.S., the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is scheduled to appear in a Pennsylvania courtroom today. New York prosecutors are trying to extradite Luigi Mangione to Manhattan to face murder

charges. A new report from the National Academies on the health effects of alcohol consumption finds it is linked to a lower risk of heart disease. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports the finding will be used to shape new guidelines on drinking alcohol. Moderate alcohol consumption was defined as up to one drink a day for women, two for men. Committee chair Dr. Ned Kalanj of the Colorado School of Public Health says they reviewed all the evidence and found that compared to never consuming alcohol, moderate consumption was associated with a lower risk of heart

attacks and strokes. We did find that moderate drinking is related to a lower risk of heart disease death. But they found moderate consumption was linked to a higher risk of breast cancer. Researchers say the evidence is far from perfect. Some people don't estimate their drinking accurately, and there's varying definitions of moderate drinking. Alison Aubry, NPR News. Winter storm warnings are posted

from North Dakota to Wisconsin. Forecasters say several inches of snow are predicted to fall. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News. This is Ira Glass. On This American Life, we like stories that surprise you. For instance, imagine finding a new hobby and realizing...

To do this hobby right, according to the ways of the masters, there's a pretty good chance that you're going to have to bend the law to get the materials that you need. If not break it. Yeah. To break international laws. Real life stories, really good ones. This American Life.