NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-20-2024 11AM EST

Episode Date: December 20, 2024

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There are celebrity interview shows and then there's Wild Card. It's a podcast from NPR that the New York Times just named as one of the 10 best of 2024. It's hosted by me, Rachel Martin. I ask guests like Issa Rae and Bo and Yang, revealing questions like, what's a place you consider sacred? Has ambition ever led you astray? And I'm telling you, it is such a good time. Listen to Wild Card, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman.

The federal government faces a partial shutdown tonight unless Congress passes spending legislation to keep it open. A short term bill backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson and President-elect Trump collapsed last night. Nearly all Democrats and scores of Republicans rejected it. Now Speaker Johnson says he is prepared to move forward fast. We're expecting votes this morning, so y'all stay tuned. We got a plan.

Democrats are demanding that the speaker restore the original bipartisan spending plan unveiled earlier this week, but Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, torpedoed that. Some Republicans are furious over Trump's views on how much money the federal government can borrow to pay its bills. Trump wants to get rid of the debt ceiling or extend the time frame for it. Some Republicans say that is not fiscally responsible.

A U.S. diplomatic delegation is in Damascus today for talks with Syria's new interim government. It follows the recent ouster of Syria's president, as NPR's Hadil Al-Shilji reports. The US State Department said that the diplomatic delegation traveling to Damascus will push what it called transition principles with Syria's interim leaders on how to build an inclusive government. The militia which led opposition forces to topple the Assad regime is Haya Al-Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS. It is designated a terrorist organization by the US.

HTS is desperate to shed the title which by the U.S. HTS is desperate to shed the title which severely restricts the amount of aid Syria would receive, money that it needs to rebuild the country. The delegation will also be looking for new information on the whereabouts of missing American journalist Austin Tice. Hadil Alshalchi, NPR News, Damascus. The Oxford, Michigan school shooter failed to withdraw his guilty plea to first-degree murder, terrorism and other charges. Ethan Crumbly's attorney said he didn't understand what he was doing when he entered the plea,

but the judge was not convinced, as NPR's Kristen Wright reports. The judge said Ethan Crumbly's guilty plea was knowingly, voluntarily and accurately given. He also rejected Crumbly's request to be re-sentenced, the school shooters serving life without the possibility of parole. But Crumbly's new defense team argued the now 18-year-old was only 16 and living with mental illness and cognitive impairment when he pleaded guilty, waiving his right to a trial.

They claim his previous attorneys failed to properly raise these issues during the plea process and sentencing. The same judge who handed down Crumbly's sentence last December concluded Thursday he showed no signs of confusion when he pleaded guilty and the sentence stands. Crumbly murdered four classmates and wounded seven other people in 2021. His parents were the first in the nation to be convicted in a school shooting committed by their child. Kristen Wright, NPR News.

This is the second day of a strike against online retailer Amazon. The Teamsters Union is demanding the company negotiate labor contracts. Amazon says the union does not represent many of its workers. Amazon is a financial supporter of NPR. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The federal government's consumer financial watchdog agency is suing the payment app Zelle. It's also suing three top banks, accusing all of them of failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud.

The federal agency claims they failed to implement safeguards, and consumers have been scammed out of hundreds of millions of dollars. Zelle says the lawsuit has no merit, and it's fully prepared to defend itself. Season's Greetings takes on a new meaning tomorrow as the winter solstice ushers in a new season. NPR's Amy Held reports the shortest day of the year brings some long-held traditions. The winter solstice occurs at 420 a.m. Eastern Saturday, the moment when Earth tilts as far as possible a.m. Eastern Saturday, the moment when Earth tilts as far as possible from the Sun. Heralding the start of winter in the

northern hemisphere, ancient cultures also tracked the skies, building monuments perhaps to monitor astronomical patterns. People still gather at Stonehenge in England like they did in prehistoric times, sort of. The solstice sunrise there is live streamed so people worldwide can see it too. Rituals may have changed, but this time of year is still seen as a time of renewal. Days will gradually get longer until June when the cycle reverses. Except below the equator, they're tilted toward the sun.

At Machu Picchu in Peru, for example, they're celebrating the summer solstice. Amy Held and NPR News. Officials with the Los Angeles Zoo say they have helped hatch two baby parenti lizards. These are among the largest types of lizards in the world and can grow to more than eight feet long. Zoo officials say the hatchlings are the first to be bred there. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.