NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-21-2024 8PM EST

Episode Date: December 22, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. The federal government is staying open at least until mid-March. Congress narrowly avoided a shutdown late last night, wrapping up a chaotic week on Capitol Hill by approving a budget deal. President Biden signed it into law today. And here's Sarah McCammon has more. In addition to funding the federal government for a few more months, the deal includes money for farmers and $100 billion in aid for victims of natural disasters, including wildfires

in Hawaii last year and hurricanes and flooding in the Carolinas this year. The agreement approved by the House and Senate was the third iteration of the bill introduced in recent days. The first deal fell apart after President-elect Donald Trump and his close adviser billionaire Elon Musk expressed opposition. The final deal ultimately passed with bipartisan support and without an increase to the nation's debt ceiling that Trump had requested. Sarah McCammon, NPR News. Ukraine launched drone attacks into Russia's interior earlier today, with Russian officials reporting damage to residential buildings

in the city of Kazan, roughly 600 miles from the front lines. And here's Brian Mann has more. Brian Mann, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington

Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington

Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington Post, The Washington 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 Kiev 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, Kiev. Actress Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing actor and director Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment

as well as campaigning to destroy her career. Impier's Chloe Veltman reports the complaint follows the star's troubled collaboration on the movie It Ends with Us. Blake Lively's lawyers filed the complaint, a precursor to a lawsuit against Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios. In the 80-page document, the actress accuses Baldoni and film production company Wayfarer Studios. In the 80-page document, the actress accuses Baldoni and film producer Jamie Heath of oversharing about their sex lives and showing her images of naked women, among other unwanted behaviours. The complaint

alleges the two enlisted a team to ruin Lively's reputation by orchestrating a smear campaign against her. Lively experienced a deluge of negative media attention following the film's release in August. In a statement to the Associated Press, the lawyer for Baldoni, Heath and their associates rejected the claims and insisted these are false. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. In Germany, at least five people are dead, including a child. Some 200 are injured. After a 50-year-old doctor allegedly drove his car into a busy Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg, police say he used the route meant to allow emergency vehicles into the area.

Authorities who are searching for a motive say they believe the attack was deliberate and that the driver who's been arrested acted alone. Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the site and laid flowers at a memorial across from the market. In 2016, an Islamist extremist rammed a semi into a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people. Today is the winter solstice, marking the official start of winter and the shortest day of the year. In Britain, people are celebrating at the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge. Vicki Barker has more from London. There was applause from the waiting crowd at 8.09 local time when a bleary sun rose

behind Stonehenge on this winter solstice. Little dots of light marked those holding up their phones to capture the moment. Jennifer Wexler is a historian for English Heritage, which administers the site. She told the BBC... It's the shortest day of the year, but it's also when we start to get the light returning.

And Stonehenge is such a special place because it's a place people have been coming to gather and celebrate that moment for really thousands of years. Many of these people will be back in six months to celebrate the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. Vicki Barker reporting from London. You're listening to NPR News. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend or receive money internationally and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees.

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