NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-21-2024 12PM EST

Episode Date: December 21, 2024

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Donald Trump promised to change Washington, D.C., a place where there's an old saying that personnel is policy. That's why we have created a new podcast called Trump's Terms, where you can follow NPR's coverage of the incoming Trump administration, from his cabinet secretaries to political advisors and top military leaders, to understand who they are, what they believe, and how they'll govern. Listen to Trump's Term terms from NPR. Live from NPR News in New York City,

I'm Duah Lisa Kao Tao. President Biden has now signed into law the American Relief Act. The bill was narrowly passed just before its midnight deadline. NPR's Sarah McCammon reports the new stopgap spending bill does not include an increase

in the nation's borrowing limit, something President-elect Trump wanted. It said he wanted this to be done on President Biden's watch so that he could go to work right away on implementing his own agenda next month. But that created more problems for Speaker Mike Johnson, who had to go back to the negotiating table and try to create a bill that would not only satisfy Trump and various factions of the House Republicans, but also maintain some support from Democrats. McCammon adds the bill includes $100 billion in disaster aid and money for farmers. In a complex ruling, a Missouri judge has struck down some laws blocking abortion, but

allowed some others to stand. The ruling comes weeks after Missouri voters backed abortion rights on the ballot. Noah Taborda of Member Station KCUR reports Planned Parenthood leaders say abortions are on hold for now. Missouri's overall abortion ban, one of the strictest in the country, remained on the books even after voters passed an abortion rights amendment to the state constitution. The judge found the ban is not enforceable.

But she is allowing some abortion restrictions to stand. Those include some licensing requirements that Planned Parenthood says still block abortions from taking place. Planned Parenthood says in a statement that it is evaluating its legal options before proceeding. For NPR News, I'm Noah Taborda in Kansas City, Missouri. Ukraine launched drone attacks into Russia's interior early today, with Russian media and officials reporting damage to residential buildings in the city of Kazan, roughly 600 miles from the front lines. NPR's Brian Mann reports from Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Much of the grimmest fighting is happening along the front lines in Ukraine's east,

but Kyiv and Moscow are also bringing the war deep into enemy territory. Ukraine's latest strike hit Kazan, where local officials said at least eight drones struck the city. There were no casualties, but explosions hit residential buildings in an industrial facility. Russia meanwhile sent more than a hundred drones into Ukrainian territory in the last 24 hours. All were shot down or crashed after being hit with electronic jammers. Russia did hit Kyiv with a heavy missile strike Friday, killing one civilian. In a statement, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack, which he said

must not be perceived by the world as something routine. Brian Mann, NPR News, Kyiv. In Kyiv, cleanup also continues where missile debris from Russian attacks on Friday damaged a holiday inn, a church, and killed one person. This is NPR News from New York. The University of California system and the U.S. Department of Education have reached an agreement to resolve complaints from both Jewish and Muslim students. The students alleged discrimination and harassment during protests over the war in Gaza.

NPR's Jason DeRose has more. The Education Department's Office of Civil Rights looked into complaints against five University of California campuses. The complaints allege the schools didn't respond adequately to anti-Semitic and anti-Arab harassment. The investigation into UCLA included reports from a pro-Palestinian encampment this spring. The Department of Education details chants of, quote, death to Israel and Intifada now, as well as pro-Palestinian students being doxed and filmed without permission on or

near campus. The agreement says the school must do a better job reporting complaints and training staff about their obligations under federal civil rights law. Jason DeRose, NPR News. It's cloudy, rainy, and windy as an estimated 3,000 people gathered at Stonehenge in Europe to mark the winter solstice when daylight is shortest, around six hours, and the night is the longest in a 24-hour period. People wore headdresses, some had Santa hats on, many sang and played instruments. Visitors have been asked to not climb on the stones and to not put graffiti or glitter on sacred marks.

Over in Iran and Central Asian countries, today's official winter solstice means eating red fruits such as pomegranates or watermelons, with some reading poetry through the night. I'm Dwali Psykow-Tau, NPR News.