NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-25-2024 9PM EST

Episode Date: December 26, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Officials in Ukraine say they've received the first billion dollars in promised loans from the U.S. backed by proceeds of frozen Russian assets. The funding comes as part of a $50 billion loan plan created by G7 leaders last summer. And Piers Breinman has more. Ukraine's Prime Minister Dnysh Schmahal said on social media the first billion dollars have arrived. That's out of 20 billion in loans expected from the U.S. with an additional 30 billion in support slated to come from other big industrial G7 countries, including Britain and Canada.

We thank our American partners and the World Bank for this important step toward justice, Schmahal said. The arrangement allows countries to support Ukraine's economy and military with massive loans, with payback coming from revenue from Russia's overseas assets frozen after the 2022 invasion. Russian officials have condemned the arrangement as fraudulent, posting on social media that loans and other support for Ukraine will prolong the war. Brian Mann, NPR News, Keefe. A congressional watchdog found that many state election officials aren't aware of a federal law about what should happen when there are an extraordinary number of vacancies in Congress. NPR's Anzhi Le Wang reports federal law requires that states hold special elections quickly to

fill vacant house seats. This federal law was passed in 2005 after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Some two decades later, the Governing Accountability Office finds more than half of the 33 state election officials who responded to a survey said they were not aware of the law. It generally requires states to hold special elections within 49 days of the House Speaker confirming more than 100 open house seats. The GAO says there's been growing interest in whether states are prepared for this scenario because of increased threats to members of Congress and the COVID-19 pandemic. If states have to hold special elections for more than 100 House vacancies, the JEO says there will likely be challenges with selecting

candidates and preparing ballots in time. For Senate vacancies, the Constitution allows states to decide whether a governor can appoint someone temporarily. Anzila Wong, NPR News. In his annual Christmas message, Britain's King Charles wished people a joyful and peaceful holiday and he also thanked his doctors and nurses in a year in which both he and daughter-in-law Princess Kate were treated for cancer. I am deeply grateful too to all those who have offered us their own kind words of sympathy answer. Charles Bokeh, Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D.,

Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D., Ph.D with AIDS. Asian markets are trading higher at this hour. The Nikkei, the main market in Japan, up about a half percent. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong is up one percent. Wall Street was closed today in observance of Christmas. U.S. futures contracts are trading flat. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Japanese Foreign Minister Takashi Iwaya met with Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Beijing today, the first meeting between the country's foreign ministers in nearly two

years. And here's Owen Zhao has more. Owen Zhao The two foreign ministers reaffirmed their commitment to, quote, strategic and mutually beneficial relations, with Wang highlighting their roles as, quote, partners for cooperation. The two neighboring countries have experienced tensions in recent years. At the forefront of Iwaya's agenda was China's ban on Japanese seafood in response to the release of treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean, as well as China's increasingly assertive military presence in the East and South China Seas. Iwaya also met with China's premier Li Qiang, who expressed a willingness to collaborate with Japan in moving toward the quote, important direction proposed by the leaders of both

nations. Alvin Cao, MPR News, Beijing. The bald eagle is now officially the national bird of the United States. This after President Biden signed some 50 bills into law, including one that amends the U.S. code to give the bald eagle this special status. Congress adopted the design of the Great Seal with the bald eagle front and center in 1782, but the bird hadn't been legislatively designated the national bird. The bill was spearheaded by Minnesota lawmakers, which is fitting since the state has the second

highest number of bald eagles after Alaska. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.