NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-20-2024 3PM EST
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Ho ho ho!
Santa here, coming to you from the North Pole.
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Ha ha ho ho ho! Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dwahleesha Kaotel.
The White House says federal agencies began notifying their employees of potential furloughs
today in the event that the government shuts down.
NPR's Deepa Shivaram reports Congress has until midnight to pass a funding deal.
Congress had reached a bipartisan deal to fund the government earlier this week,
but then president-elect Donald Trump and his advisors weighed in and said they
didn't approve of it. Yesterday, another proposal was put forward,
but House Republicans were not able to pass that.
Now as some government employees are being informed that they would have to go
without pay in the case that the government does shut down,
the White House is blaming Republicans. Here's press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre. Republicans blew up this deal. They did and they need
to fix this period. Jean-Pierre said there's still time for Congress to
prevent a partial shutdown of the government but the administration is
trying to be prudent in their planning. Deepa Shivaram, NPR News, the White House.
The government's consumer financial watchdog is suing the payment network Zelle and three
of the country's largest banks. As NPR's Laura Wamsley reports, the lawsuit alleges
they failed to protect consumers from widespread fraud.
In the payment app Zelle's seven years of existence, customers of Bank of America, JPMorgan
Chase and Wells Fargo have lost more than $870 million
due to a lack of fraud protections.
That's according to the lawsuit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
against those three banks, which are also among the co-owners of Zell's parent company.
The bureau says the banks failed to implement effective safeguards,
then failed to help customers who were defrauded.
Here's CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.
These banks broke the law by running a payment system that made fraud easy and then refusing
to help the victims.
In a statement, Zell said the Bureau's lawsuit is legally and factually flawed and says its
timing, quote, appears to be driven by political factors.
Laurel Wamslee, NPR News.
Congestion pricing in New York City
is set to go into effect the first week of January,
but a preliminary injunction hearing
is taking place at this hour, possibly putting a pause
on the controversial tolling plan.
Another holed up the failed bargaining between neighboring
New York and New Jersey.
Governor Kathy Hochul accuses New Jersey officials
of failing to negotiate in good faith. You get stuck on New Jersey, Governor Kathy Hochul accuses New Jersey officials of failing to negotiate in good faith.
You get stuck on New Jersey transit, or waiting an hour on a path train, or you want a nice
new bus station, this is going to all be affected if congestion pricing doesn't go through.
The daytime peak toll from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday is $9 with an easy pass
tag. A winter storm that dumped more than a half a foot of snow in parts of Minnesota
caused more than 450 crashes there on Thursday, that's according to State Patrol. You're
listening to NPR News from New York City.
The union representing Starbucks employees says baristas are on strike today through
Christmas Eve in three cities, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle.
Starbucks Workers United, which represents more than 10,000 employees, said it expects
more members at locations across the country to participate. They want a minimum
wage of $20, annual raises of 5 percent, and better leave protocols, among other requests.
A Starbucks spokesperson told NPR that they want union delegates to return to the bargaining
table to continue negotiations that they say ended prematurely.
Seasons Greetings takes on a new meaning tomorrow as the winter solstice ushers in
a new season.
The shortest day of the year brings some long-held traditions, as In Piers Amy Held reports.
The winter solstice occurs at 420 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, NPR News.
And I'm Dwaihli Psychoutel, NPR News.