NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-23-2024 1AM EST

Episode Date: December 23, 2024

NPR News: 12-23-2024 1AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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. President-elect Donald Trump says he'll introduce sweeping immigration restrictions when he takes office, and that could threaten temporary protected status, also known as TPS. The program currently protects nearly 900,000 people who lack permanent legal residence here.

For member station KQED in San Francisco, Tyke Hendricks caught up with a nurse from Ukraine who's here under the TPS program. Two years ago Oksana Demidenko fled the Russian bombardment of Kiev. Today she lives in Richmond, California and tracks avian flu in a state public health lab. I love my work. I love because I can help community. TPS gives permission to live and work here to immigrants whose country is experiencing war or natural disaster.

The protections are granted to people already residing in the U.S. at the time of their country's designation. But Demidenko is afraid Trump will strip that away. We don't know if we have a future or not. It's hard. If it's not renewed, TPS for 50,000 Ukrainians will expire in April. For NPR News, I'm Taiki Hendricks in Richmond, California. Before it even takes office, President-elect Donald Trump is facing some dissension in

the Republican ranks in Congress. While Congress passed last-minute budget measure to keep the federal government open this weekend, some Republicans torpedoed Trump's effort to get rid of the debt ceiling. Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah was one of those opposed to the idea. It's very important to me that President Trump is successful. I want to see him wildly successful. And I'll be supportive of him when he's talking about inflation and the economy and everything like that. But that doesn't mean there won't be moments when I disagree with him. And I think it's very important to me and my constituents

that at those moments that I feel comfortable speaking up. Curtis was speaking on ABC's This Week. He'll become Utah's next newest Senator in the next Congress. After a volatile week in stocks, investors on Wall Street are facing a quieter few days because of the coming holidays, but as NPR's Rafael Nam reports, markets have lost a bit of momentum heading to the end of the year.

Trading is likely to slow down, especially after Congress avoided a shutdown this weekend. A slower week will likely be a welcome development after a rough week. All three major indexes tumbled last week, with the Dow Jones declining for a third consecutive week, as stocks continue to pair some of the strong gains seen after the election of Donald Trump in November. The path forward will ultimately depend on how inflation and other economic data shape up. But there won't be many new reports coming this week. We'll get new home sales and consumer

confidence, but not much else. Rafael Nam, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News. Police and taxes say they have now identified the pickup driver who crashed his vehicle into a JCPenney store at a mall in the town of Killeen on Saturday. Five people were injured before the man was fatally shot by police who were chasing him at the time of the incident. The man has been identified as 53-year-old John Darrell Schultz. The state of Florida is launching a new AI tool to rapidly broadcast emergency alerts. As NPR's Debbie Elliott reports, it's designed to work even when internet and cell service are both down. Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie says the new Beacon alert system builds on the public radio emergency network,

often the only line of communication in a major disaster. Beacon combines new technology with the reliability and power of broadcast radio to deliver messages directly to the communities that need them the most. Guthrie says AI technology instantly turns information from emergency agencies into broadcast-ready messages. Here's how a test sounded during Hurricane Milton. Beacon, safety first, always on. Attention residents of Sarasota County. The messages go out on AM radio, FMHD channels,

and the Beacon mobile app. Debbie Elliott, NPR News. A Russian official says Ukrainian drones hit a major field depot on Sunday. It was the second time in a little more than a week that the facility was damaged by drones. In the latest attack, a fire broke out at the facility in Russia's southern Oriel region. The official says 20 other drones were shot down by Russian forces. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.