NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-28-2024 6PM EST

Episode Date: December 28, 2024

NPR News: 12-28-2024 6PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. The State Department has shut down an office that was tracking disinformation efforts by Russia, China, and others. Republicans in Congress had stripped the office of funding, as NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. The Global Engagement Center was set up to expose and counter foreign propaganda that could undermine stability in countries that are partners to the U.S. Trump adviser, multi-billionaire Elon Musk called it the, quote, worst offender in the U.S. government of censorship and media manipulation.

Its funding was stripped in the National Defense Authorization Act. The State Department says the Global Engagement Center terminated operations on December 23, and the department is consulting with Congress on next steps. The office had been reporting on Russian disinformation campaigns around the world, as well as exposing Iranian and Chinese propaganda. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, Washington. Three months after Hurricane Helene hit mountain communities of western North Carolina, thousands are still out of their homes.

Jay Price from Member Station WUNC reports winter weather is now slowing repair work. Pinky Anderson and her 14-year-old daughter are among more than 5,000 storm survivors FEMA still has in hotels. She's applied with FEMA and a charity group for money to fix their damaged house, but doesn't have any word yet. She says many of the 23 others in their small hotel in tiny Newland, North Carolina, are in the same fix. It's just gone on too long, and we need some help. We are totally forgotten. We're not seen right now.

FEMA officials are trying to find longer-term options for those who are displaced. It's put a few dozen so far into mobile units and more than 500 into rental housing. But the area already had a shortage of affordable housing, and FEMA is having to offer rent of up to twice the fair market value. For NPR News, I'm Jay Price. During the busy holiday shopping seasons, people spent 3.8 percent more in stores and online as compared to last year. That's according to early results from MasterCard, which tracks payment transactions. In Piers, Alina Seljuk reports.

Holiday spending is roughly in line with what economists had expected, and it's largely surpassing inflation, meaning people are actually buying more things this year, not just paying higher prices for the same amount of stuff. This is particularly true about restaurant meals. Mastercard's data shows spending at restaurants growing more than 6% this year compared to last year. Shoppers did pay particular attention to deals and discounts. Surveys suggest this was one of the reasons the holiday shopping season was quite busy,

because people were hoping and waiting to snag things on sale. In fact, Mastercard says people waited a a lot with the last five days before Christmas accounting for 10 percent of all holiday season spending. Alina Seluk, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. The National Park Service is warning visitors to Hawaii's Kilauea volcano to heed warnings and safety precautions. Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, started erupting Monday, its

third eruption this year so far. The volcanic activity has drawn visitors to watch the lava flow, but park officials are telling people to stay on the trails and out of the closed areas. The Park Service says the eruption could restart at any time and that toxic gas emissions are still high. Loneliness is back to pre-pandemic levels in older adults. As Impir's Emily Kwong reports, a lot can be done to support lonely Americans this holiday season. Among older adults ages 50 to 80, one third say, yeah, I feel lonely at least some of the time.

That's according to the national poll on healthy aging run by the University of Michigan. And that has health risks. Chronic loneliness can lead to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and dementia. So steady author, Preeti Malani, wants everyone to think of loneliness as a health problem

that can be treated and prevented. We can all walk across the street, we can knock on people's doors, we can make plans to visit. Actively cultivating human connection is its own kind of medicine. For NPR News, I'm Emily Kwong. The winning ticket for the $1.2 billion Mega Millions lottery jackpot was sold in California. This after three months without anyone winning the top prize in that lottery. Mega Millions says this jackpot was the fifth highest one no one so far

has come forward to claim the prize. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.