NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-21-2024 9AM EST

Episode Date: December 21, 2024

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Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. Shortly after midnight, the Senate approved the House passed Stop Gap Funding Bill, avoiding a shutdown and keeping the government running until March. Passage kept a tumultuous week on Capitol Hill, as NPR's Susan Davis reports.

The slimmed-down agreement includes key provisions of the original bipartisan deal derailed by President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire businessman Elon Musk. It'll keep the government running until March 14th when Congress will have to do this all over again. The bill includes about $100 billion for natural disaster recovery efforts and a one-year extension of federal farm programs. House Republicans rejected Trump's attempt to strong-arm into the deal an unconditional increase in the debt ceiling, the nation's borrowing limit, although he did succeed in removing from the final agreement the first pay raise

for lawmakers in 16 years. Susan Davis, NPR News, Washington. Before leaving Capitol Hill for the holidays, the Senate also gave final passage to legislation that boosts Social Security payments for millions of Americans. The union representing Starbucks workers says a five-day strike will spread to Columbus, Denver, and Pittsburgh today and that walkouts will escalate daily. The strike began Friday in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle, where Monica Nicholsburg of member station KUOW spoke with workers on the picket line. I'm your talking, lousy pig. That is how your coffee's made.

Mari Cosgrove has been fighting for a contract since unionizing their Seattle store in 2022. I want to see fired workers get reinstated, some of whom have been waiting for over two years, and I want to see Starbucks take us seriously and come to the table with a respectful bargaining proposal. In a statement, Starbucks accused the union of making unsustainable demands. Starbucks Workers United, representing the striking employees, says the company is failing

to negotiate in good faith or offer meaningful raises. Starbucks has said the strike will not have a significant impact on store operations. For NPR News, I'm Monica Nicholsburg in Seattle. The Starbucks workers join Amazon delivery drivers who began a strike at seven facilities on Thursday. Germans are looking for answers after last night's attack on a Christmas market that left five people dead and more than 200 injured. Theodora Ulbricht lives in Magdeburg where authorities believe a driver deliberately rammed his vehicle into a large crowd.

You can't understand how someone who's probably so sick can do so much terror and grief to a beautiful city. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is calling the attack a dreadful tragedy. He spoke after visiting the scene. Authorities have the suspect in custody. He is said to be a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany for almost 20 years. And from Washington, this is NPR News. 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. Here's NPR's Jason DeRose. The Education Department's Office of Civil Rights looked into complaints against five University of California campuses. The complaints alleged 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 doxxed 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. Nat. Next court appearance for the man accused of fatally shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson set for Monday. Luigi Mangione is to be arraigned on a state murder indictment. Mangione was

returned to New York this week from Pennsylvania. He appeared in a federal court on Thursday. He's being held without bail. Experts are predicting a record-breaking holiday travel season. The Auto Club AAA says it expects more than 119 million people to travel at least 50 miles from home today through New Year's Day, topping the previous holiday season record set in 2019. The Transportation Security Administration says it expects to screen 40 million airline passengers through January 2nd. I'm Jial Snyder, NPR News.

This is Eric Glass. On This American Life, we like stories that surprise you. For instance, imagine finding a new hobby and realizing... To do this hobby right, according to the ways of the masters, there's a pretty good chance that you're going to have to bend the law to get the materials that you need. If not break it. Yeah. To break international laws.

Real life stories, really good ones. This American Life.