NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-22-2024 2AM EST

Episode Date: December 22, 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, I'm Dale Willman. Now that Congress has passed a budget bill to keep the government open for a few more months, the official business of Washington is mostly over until President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in in January.

But when the new Congress convenes in Washington, at the top of the agenda is deciding if Mike Johnson will continue as House Speaker, as NPR's Susan Davis tells us. He's going to have to preside over one of the narrowest majorities in history and he can only lose one, two, maybe three votes and hold on to that gavel. So the new Congress could open on a fairly chaotic note. Remember the House can't do a single thing until they elect a speaker. And we saw this happen just last fall

when Republicans kicked out Speaker McCarthy. The House didn't operate for 21 days until Mike Johnson ultimately won that race. He and the House of Representatives could be facing a similar fate in just a few weeks. NPR's Susan Davis, President-elect Donald Trump has tapped a television producer to be a special envoy to the United Kingdom as NPR's Chloe Veltman reports. Trump announced the appointment on social media on Saturday. In his post on Truth Social,

Donald Trump said Mark Burnett would bring quote, a unique blend of diplomatic acumen and international recognition to his role as special envoy to the UK. The British Emmy Award winning producer is known for reality tv shows such as Survivor, Shark Tank and The Apprentice. The latter starred the President-elect. That show which ran from 2004 to 2017 was instrumental in turning Trump into a huge national celebrity. During the run-up to the 2016 presidential elections, Emmy Awards host Jimmy Kimmel joked about Burnett's role in boosting Trump's profile.

If Donald Trump gets elected and he builds that wall, the first person we're throwing over it is Mark Burnett. In the YouTube clip, Burnett can be seen laughing in the audience. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. With the busy holiday travel weekend underway, the AAA predicts more than 119 million people will hit the road in skies between now and New Year's Day. But as NPR's Ava Puchach reports, some winter weather could create challenges for travelers. Some areas in the northeastern U.S. saw several inches of snowfall this weekend as a storm system moved across the region.

But for the holiday week, Frick Pereira, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, says they aren't forecasting widespread inclement weather. There will be some localized areas where travel may be a little bit more difficult. We're looking at the potential for mountain snow and lower elevation rain across portions of the Pacific Northwest over the next several days. And that would certainly slow travelers down across that area. And while the East Coast is experiencing some of the coldest temperatures of the season,

Pereira says temperatures will gradually start to rise as Christmas approaches. Eva Pukac and PR News. An investigation is now underway into the shooting down of a US Navy F-A-18 fighter plane early Sunday morning over the Red Sea. The Pentagon says the plane was hit by friendly fire from the guided missile cruiser the USS Gettysburg. Both pilots ejected and recovered safely. You're listening to NPR News.

The US Central Command says American forces conducted attacks on targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Saturday. The strikes hit a missile storage facility in a command and control center. In a statement, the military says the strikes were aimed at disrupting Houthi operations in the region, including attacks against U.S. warships and commercial shipping. Ricky Henderson, a World Series champion who holds the all-time record for most stolen bases in Major League Baseball history, has died at the age of 65. For Member Station KQED in San Francisco, Joseph Gihau reports.

An Oakland legend who played parts of 14 seasons with the A's in a 25-year career, Henderson was known most for his rare and exciting combination of speed and power. His wife, Pamela Henderson, confirmed his death in a statement issued Saturday through the A's. In addition to the stolen base title, Henderson had many other career records that have stood for decades, including most leadoff home runs and most runs scored.

Billy Beane, the famed long-time former Oakland Athletics General Manager, said in a statement that Henderson was, quote, the greatest Oakland A of all time, and that his impact on the A's, on Oakland, and on baseball is immeasurable. For NPR News, I'm Joseph Gija. The Washington commanders could be heading back to Washington, D.C.

The team moved their stadium from Washington to Landover, Maryland in 1997, but the Senate Saturday passed a resolution to transfer land that includes the old RFK Stadium where the team once played from the federal government to the District of Columbia that could entice the commanders to once again return back home. I'm Dale Willman and you're listening to NPR News.