NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-21-2024 6PM EST

Episode Date: December 21, 2024

NPR News: 12-21-2024 6PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Oh, oh, oh, Santa here coming to you from the North Pole. We're the elves in our podcast division of just completed work on this season's best gift for public radio lovers. NPR plus give the gift of sponsored free listening and even bonus episodes from your favorite NPR podcasts, all while supporting public media. Learn more at plus dot NPR dot org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. The federal government will stay open at least through March 14th, this after the Senate and House both passed a bipartisan short-term funding bill.

It includes $100 billion in disaster aid for people in several areas, including fire survivors on Maui and hurricane survivors in North Carolina, along with money for farmers. MPR Sarah McKammon has more. Well, a month from now, Trump and his party will control both the presidency and both houses of Congress. So they'll have to deal with this. They will have a very narrow margin in the House.

And Speaker Johnson, assuming he holds on to his job until this time, will once again have to make a deal that will appeal either to some Democrats or to virtually his entire conference. And that includes conservative Republicans who are often reluctant to vote for any spending bill. And Pierce Sarah McCammon. The Department of Education reopened two old student loan repayment plans. And Pierce Corey Turner has more. That new plan, called the Saving on a Valuable Education Plan, or SAVE, was created by the Biden administration but has been paused by the courts. SAVE offers the lowest payments and fastest track to loan forgiveness of any federal repayment

plan, which is what got it into trouble. Republican state attorneys general have argued in court that the White House does not have the authority to create a plan as expensive as save, which could cost hundreds of billions of dollars. While the court's debate, some 8 million borrowers enrolled in save remain in limbo, not having to make payments. But for borrowers looking to change plans, the Education Department just reopened to older options that it had phased out. Corey Turner, NPR News. At least 16 people were injured after a missile hit Tel Aviv early today.

Amperus Kary Kahn reports Israeli authorities say the projectile was fired from Yemen and that its air defense system was unable to intercept it. This is the second time in the past week that missiles were fired into central Israel from Yemen's Houthi militants. Unlike those fired two days ago, the latest managed to pass through Israel's air defense system and landed in a Tel Aviv suburb. More than a dozen people suffered minor injuries from falling shrapnel according to Israeli health officials. Yemen's armed forces said it had successfully hit a military target. The missile landed in an empty playground. Houthi militants packed by

Iran have fired missiles into Israel and attacked ships in the Red Sea for more than a year. Israeli officials have in return struck sites in Yemen. They recently warned Houthi leaders they will be targeted if strikes continue. Kari Kahn in PR News, Tel Aviv. Meanwhile, the US Central Command says its forces conducted precision airstrikes against a missile storage facility and command facility operated by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. This in response to Houthi attacks against US Navy warships

and merchant vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. President-elect Trump is nominating TV producer Mark Burnett as a special envoy to the UK. Burnett, the producer of Survivor, Shark Tank, and The Voice, also produced Trump's TV show, The Apprentice. Trump cited Burnett's TV background in naming him to the post. Burnett was born in London. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a weight loss drug to treat sleep apnea among people who are obese. And Pierce

Juliana Kim reports, it's become the first FDA-approved medication to treat sleep apnea. Sleep apnea occurs when a person's upper airway becomes blocked. It can affect anyone, but it tends to be more common among people who are obese. That's where the weight loss drug ZetBound comes in. The Food and Drug Administration referred to two studies involving adults with obesity and obstructive sleep apnea. After about a year, participants on ZetBound reported significantly fewer sleep apnea symptoms compared to those on a placebo. That was true for both participants who use a CPAP machine and those who don't. The FDA approval highlights the growing potential of weight loss drugs.

Last year, another brand was approved by the FDA to prevent heart problems in patients who are overweight. Juliana Kim, NPR News. Today is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, marking the shortest day of the year and the longest night. Juliana Kim, NPR News.