NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-23-2024 7PM EST

Episode Date: December 24, 2024

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Ho ho ho! Santa here, coming to you from the North Pole. We're the elves in our podcast division of just completed work on this season's best gift for public radio lovers, NPR+. Give the gift of sponsored free listening and even bonus episodes from your favorite NPR podcasts, all while supporting public media. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Top Arab diplomats continue to visit the Syrian capital of Damascus as the international community begins to welcome Syria back into the fold. As NPR's Hadil al-Shalchi reports, there have been a steady stream of foreign politicians visiting Syria since the fall of the Assad regime two weeks ago.

The Qatari and Jordanian foreign ministers held talks today with the new Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharah and vowed to quote, support a peaceful transition of power. Shara also met with a Saudi official. Unlike Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan had relations with the Assad government. The Turkish foreign minister was also in Damascus, the first to visit the new Syrian government. At that meeting, Shahra announced that all weapons would come under the control of the Syrian Ministry of Defense and that the rebel factions that helped topple the Assad regime would be disbanded.

Turkey and Qatar backed the rebels who overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Damascus. A blistering House Ethics Committee report accuses former Congressman Matt Gaetz of regularly paying for sex and drugs and also of having sex with a 17-year-old girl. The 37-page report was released today from the bipartisan panel, comes after a four-year probe that helped sink his nomination for attorney general. The report also included explicit details about apparent sex parties and trips Gates took while representing Florida in the House. Gates had stepped down before the release of the ethics committee probe. Gates has denied all wrongdoing, filed a lawsuit seeking to block the report's release.

Arguing as a former congressman, the committee no longer has jurisdiction over him. When a major medical payment processing company got hit by a cyber attack last February, pharmacies and clinics and hospitals across the U.S. were in crisis mode for that company. The bad news is not over just yet. MPR's Jen McLaughlin has an update. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers recently announced that his office was filing a lawsuit against a top health care payment company for failing to protect Nebraskans data. Last February, Change Healthcare was hit by a ransomware attack, stalling medical procedures, insurance claims, prescription fulfillments, and payments to medical providers across the

country. The outage even forced some clinics to shut down. The cybercriminals also had access to reams of sensitive personal data that could be used for identity theft or extortion. The Nebraska Attorney General's Office says they want to hold change health care accountable for failing to put basic security protections in place. Jen McLaughlin, NPR News. Former President Bill Clinton has been hospitalized for what's reported to be a high fever.

The 78-year-old former president was taken to Georgetown University's MedStar Hospital in Washington for testing and observation. Clinton has faced some health issues since leaving office and Clinton is going a quadruple bypass surgery in 2004. He is said to be in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he's getting. On Wall Street that was up 66 points. This is NPR. There's a new English translation of Dante's The Divine Comedy. The epic poem is one of the most important texts in Western literature. NPR's Andrew Limbonga is more on what keeps it relevant today. The new translation is by the poet Michael Palma, who keeps intact Dante's original

Terzerima rhyme scheme, which interlocks the entire poem, which is why many translators opt for looser rhyme schemes. And many of those translations are fine, says Palma, but… Without reproducing the rhymes, you're certainly losing a lot of the music of the poem. The three parts, inferno, precatorio, and paradiso, tells a story about sin and redemption and human nature. Palmer says it still has something to say today. One of its principal themes is one that, unfortunately, is all too relevant now and is always relevant,

and that is corruption on the parts of the powerful. The new translation is out now. Andrew Limbong, NPR News. Mourners have been laying flowers and other tributes for the scene of a deadly Christmas market attack in Germany. At the same time, there are fears the rampage could deepen divisions there. A church just a short distance from where a man plowed his car into the market, killing five people and wounding dozens more, has been a central spot for mourners as authorities continue to puzzle over a motive.

A man identified as a Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 was arrested at the scene of the incident. However, officials there say he does not fit the usual profile of those who carry out extremist attacks. Good oil futures prices closed down slightly today. In thin trading, oil fell 22 cents a barrel to $69.24 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.