NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-23-2024 11AM EST

Episode Date: December 23, 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 Corva Coleman. The House Ethics Committee has released the report of its investigation into former Congressman Matt Gaetz. This is on allegations of sexual misconduct. The report has been secret until today.

In the introduction to the report, the Ethics Committee concluded there was substantial evidence that Gaetz violated House rules and the law regarding prostitution and drug use, among other allegations. Gates has consistently denied the allegations. Earlier today, he filed a lawsuit seeking to block the release of the report. The man accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York City hotel has pleaded not guilty to state murder charges. From member station WNYC, Samantha Maxx reports that includes first degree murder in furtherance

of terrorism. — Prosecutors say Luigi Mangione targeted the health insurance executive while he was in New York City for an investor conference. They say he waited for about an hour outside Thompson's hotel and then shot him from behind with an untraceable ghost gun. Mangione has become an antihero for people who are frustrated with the health insurance industry. But police, prosecutors, and the New York City mayor have criticized Mangione. Mangione's defense attorney said in court that he's innocent until proven guilty. She also said official statements

about the case could hurt his chance of getting a fair trial. For NPR News, I'm Samantha Maxx in New York. The National Institutes of Health has announced it's investing $300 million to research treatments for people who have long COVID. Many patients say researchers haven't yet come up with a reliable treatment plan. Health reporter Sarah Boden spoke to officials at NIH. Well, the agency agrees that there is a real urgency to find treatments, but they told me that scientists need a solid understanding of the underlying biology of long COVID, which is a complicated disease that can damage nearly every organ system. And researchers have

learned a lot. For example, one NIH-funded study found that people are less likely to get long COVID if they've been vaccinated. Sarah Boden reporting. Syria's new interim leader is trying to assert control over the rebel factions that helped topple the Assad regime. And Piers Hadil al-Shalchi has more from Damascus. Interim Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharif said his government will soon announce the new structure of the defense ministry, wearing a suit and tie instead of fatigues. Al-Sharif said his government will soon announce the new structure of the Defense Ministry. Wearing a suit and tie instead of fatigues, Sharif spoke alongside the Turkish Foreign Minister, the first to visit Damascus since the fall of the Assad regime two weeks ago.

Sharif said that rebel factions will begin to dissolve and that all weapons should come under state control, including those held by Kurdish-led groups like the Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF. SDF has worked closely with U.S. forces in the fight against ISIS. Hadil Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Damascus. On Wall Street, the Dow is down 250 points. You're listening to NPR. President-elect Trump says the U.S. should take back control of the Panama Canal. That was relinquished in 1999. Speaking at a conservative political conference yesterday, Trump said canal fees are too high.

But Panama's president says the canal belongs to his country. Separately, Trump is writing online the US should take control and own Greenland. Today, Greenland's prime minister said the island is not for sale and Greenlanders must not lose the struggle for freedom. Gore-Tex is a popular product that makes raincoats and hiking boots water-resistant. A new lawsuit alleges the company that manufactures the material has been polluting waterways in Maryland with toxic chemicals for decades. NPR's Jacob Fenston reports.

According to Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, gore has used the state's streams and groundwater as a dumping ground for toxic PFAS. They're known as forever chemicals because they can stick around in the environment for hundreds of years, and they've been linked to a range of health effects, including reproductive problems and cancer. Brown's lawsuit alleges the company knew the risks

the chemicals posed, but concealed the information from the public. In a statement to NPR, a Gore spokesperson denied the allegations and said the company's been working intensively with state regulators since toxic chemicals were discovered near one of its facilities two years ago. Gore is the largest private employer in Cecil County in Maryland's rural northeastern corner. Jacob Fenston, NPR News. Nebraska Governor Jim Pillin is recovering in a hospital in Omaha.

He was bucked off a horse yesterday. His office says that he is conscious, alert, and in continuous touch with his team. I'm Korva Kuhlman, NPR News.