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

Episode Date: December 19, 2024

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Every weekday, NPR's best political reporters come to you on the NPR Politics Podcast to explain the big news coming out of Washington, the campaign trail and beyond. We don't just want to tell you what happened, we tell you why it matters. Join the NPR Politics Podcast every single afternoon to understand the world through political eyes. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The 26-year-old accused of killing the CEO of United Health Care in New York City now faces federal charges and if convicted could be sentenced to death.

Samantha Max of Member Station WNYC has more. Federal prosecutors charged Luigi Mangione with murder, firearm, and stalking charges. They say he took a bus to New York City and waited outside a hotel where CEO Brian Thompson was staying for an investor conference. Then prosecutors say Mangione shot the CEO with an untraceable ghost gun and fled to Pennsylvania. A new criminal complaint cites a letter addressed, quote, to the feds that police found after Mangione's arrest.

It also quotes from a notebook where officials say he wrote about his plans to target the insurance industry. Mangione was already facing state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, including for murder as an act of terrorism. His attorney said in court that she was caught off guard by the federal charges. For NPR News, I'm Samantha Maxx in New York. President-elect Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers

are announcing success in terms of crafting a new stop gap spending bill just a day ahead of a possible government shutdown, though details are still emerging. Proposed deal would keep the government running for three more months. Not clear, though, is whether Democrats, whose votes would be needed, are on emerging. Proposed deal would keep the government running for three more months. Not clear though is whether Democrats whose votes would be needed are on board. A Georgia appeals court has ruled Fulton County DA Fonny Willis should be removed from the election interference case involving President

elect Trump and 14 others. Sam Greenglass with Member Station WABE reports. 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. Sales of existing homes rebounded in November. NPR's Laura Wamsley reports. 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 percent. First-time buyers comprised 30 percent of sales last month. The median existing home sales price rose to $406,000. Laurel Wamsley, NPR News. On Wall Street, the Dow is up 15 points today.

You're listening to NPR. More than 500 million people employ Google Calendar to organize their busy lives. It's easy to use and easy to share with others, but unfortunately it's also an attractive target for cyber criminals. Dyrsdanna McLaughlin has the story. Israeli cybersecurity firm Checkpoint has uncovered a new scam where attackers send realistic fake Google Calendar invites to trick victims into giving up sensitive personal information. Checkpoint researchers say they've tracked over 4,000 of these fake calendar invitations over just four weeks.

The malicious campaign has impacted around 300 brands so far. In this particular scam, attackers are modifying emails to make it look like users are getting an invitation to an event via Google Calendar. The features that make the calendar user-friendly and interoperable with Gmail can make it vulnerable to this kind of attack. To prevent compromise, Checkpoint encourages users to deploy multi-factor authentication and take a second look at invitations, particularly any you weren't expecting. Jen McLaughlin, NPR News. Australian computer scientists who falsely claimed to have invented the cryptocurrency Bitcoin was found in contempt of court by London's High Court.

In a judgment today, Justice and Craig Wright had committed a clear breach of an order in March that barred him from launching or threatening further legal action related to Bitcoin. For eight years, Wright, who is not in the UK, has claimed he was the man behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the shadowy figure who has claimed to have invented the cryptocurrency. Crypto futures prices closed lower today, oiled down 67 cents a barrel to end the session at 69.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.