NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-24-2024 8AM EST

Episode Date: December 24, 2024

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The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. Workers have been feeling the sting of inflation. So as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes, and home prices, The S&P 500 biggest post-election day spike ever. follow all the big changes and what they mean for you. Make America affordable again. Listen to The Indicator, the daily economics podcast from NPR. I'm from NPR News, I'm Corva Coleman.

There's been reaction to a report on allegations of sexual misconduct by former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. He was President-elect Trump's initial pick for U.S. Attorney General. The House Ethics Committee says it found evidence that Gaetz broke House rules and the law, prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illegal drug use, and other accusations. Gates has consistently denied he broke the law. Yesterday, he filed a lawsuit to try to stop the release of the report,

saying he was no longer a member of Congress. NPR's Barbara Sprunt says a majority of the ethics panel disagreed. The panel said there have been instances where the committee determined it was in the public's interest to release findings even after a member leaves Congress. In this case, they said they didn't take the decision lightly. The chairman of the committee, Republican Michael Guest of Mississippi, wrote on behalf

of dissenting members of the panel that while they don't challenge the findings of the investigation, the release itself is, in their words, a dangerous break with established standards. NPR's Barbara Sprunt reporting. Travelers across the Northeast could face wintry weather conditions this Christmas Eve. As NPR's Joel Rose reports, millions of people are on the move in what could be a record-setting holiday travel season. More than 119 million people are expected to travel

more than 50 miles from home between December 21st and New Year's Day, according to a forecast from AAA. That would set a new record for the holiday season, barely eclipsing the pre-pandemic total from 2019. The US air travel system is also bracing for its busiest holiday season ever. TSA, the Transportation Security Administration,

is expecting 40 million people to pass through security checkpoints, a 6% jump from last year. December 27th and 30th will be some of the busiest days to fly. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. The Federal Aviation Administration has now lifted a brief ground stop of all American Airlines flights in the U.S. In a post on X, the airline previously said it was experiencing a technical issue. Ukraine is struggling to stop Russia's advance in the east facing a shortage. Ukraine's army is turning more and more to remote-controlled drones. NPR's Brian Mann has more.

Russia has been grinding forward in the Pokrovsk region, fielding more troops and artillery. Ukraine's smaller force is using drone units to fight back. NPR was able to watch live video feeds as attacked drones bombed Russian units, led by a soldier who goes by the call sign PIP. We're doing this every day, nonstop, 24 hours. Drones haven't stopped Russia, but a military drone technician who gave his name as Yuri for security reasons said Ukraine is making Russia pay a huge price in soldiers killed

and wounded. We try to take out as many as we can before they reach our positions. If Pukrovsk falls, it will be Russia's largest victory in months. Brian Mann, NPR News, near Pukrovsk. This is NPR. A spokesman for former President Bill Clinton says he is hospitalized in Washington after developing a fever yesterday. The spokesman says the 78-year-old former president has gotten some tests and is being

observed but that Clinton is in good spirits. A global watchdog says famine is spreading in Sudan in the midst of its civil war. The group says the Integrated Food security phase classification says famine has been identified in five Sudanese areas. Another five in Sudan are expected to plunge into famine conditions in months. Thousands of people have been killed in Sudan's civil war. It's estimated 14 million people have been driven from their homes. The giant crocodile made famous in the 1980s hit movie, Crocodile Dundee died over the

weekend in a reptile aquarium in Australia. Christina Kukoya reports the reptile was thought to be over 90 years old. The death of Burt the Saltwater crocodile was confirmed by staff at the Crocosaurus Cove Reptile Aquarium in Darwin, where he'd been housed since 2008. In a post on social media, the facility said Bert wasn't just a crocodile, he was a force of nature, whose personality could be challenging but made him memorable. Measuring more than 16 feet in length, Bert was captured in northern Australia before making a terrifying cameo appearance in Crocodile Dundee alongside actors Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski in 1986. He's said to have been named after movie star Bert Reynolds.

For NPI News, I'm Christina Kukola in Melbourne, Australia.