NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-30-2024 11PM EST

Episode Date: December 31, 2024

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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 in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. The Treasury Department says a state-sponsored actor in China hacked some employee workstations at the agency. NPR's Rafael Nam reports the department says it considers this breach a major cybersecurity

incident. On December 8, Treasury was told by a third-party software provider called Beyond Trust that a hacker from China had gained access to a security key used by the vendor. The hacker then used that key to remotely gain access to a number of Treasury workstations and access unclassified documents, according to a letter seen by NPR. Treasury said it was working with the FBI and security officials to look into the breach. In a statement, the agency says the hacker no longer has access to Treasury systems or

its information and that it takes all threats to its systems and its data very seriously. Rafael Nam, NPR News. Mexico is testing a new app designed to help migrants notify relatives and consulates if they're about to be detained by U.S. immigration authorities. Tecthus Public Radio's Stephanie Corpi reports it's scheduled for release in January. The app allows users to send an alert to selected contacts and the nearest Mexican consulate by pressing a panic button. The feature ensures consulates are promptly informed,

aligning with U.S. obligations to notify home country consulates when foreign nationals are detained. This initiative is anticipating mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump. The Mexican government has strengthened consular staffing and legal aid to support migrants during deportation proceedings. A 24-hour call center has also been established. The app could serve more than 11 million Mexican migrants with legal residency and 4.8 million undocumented individuals living in the U.S. I'm Stefania Corpi in Mexico City. Former president Jimmy Carter died Sunday at the age of 100. Carter is known for having said he wanted the last guinea worm to die before he did. While it

didn't happen, his work to wipe out the guinea-worm disease will be his lasting legacy, NPR's Gabrielle Emanuel reports. Carter is famous for tackling diseases that have received little attention, especially those that affect the poor in remote areas. Adam Weiss is with the Carter Center. He always was looking at what are things that other people aren't doing that will help this world. Starting in 1986, Carter rallied people around eradicating guinea worm, a painful disease with no treatment or vaccine. There were 3.6 million cases back then. Fast forward and as of now, with only surveillance and health education, there have been just 11 cases in 2024. Gabriella Emanuel, NPR News. Former President Carter's funeral will be held next Thursday, January 9th at the Washington

National Cathedral. President Biden will deliver the eulogy. You're listening to NPR News. A federal appeals court has upheld a $5 million civil jury award against Donald Trump, this in connection with the sexual abuse of a columnist in a department store dressing room 28 years ago. The writer, E. Jean Carroll, testified at a trial that a friendly encounter in 1996 turned into a sexual attack, she said, at a Manhattan store.

Trump skipped the defamation and sex abuse trial and is repeatedly denied that that incident ever took place. A new study shows that squirrels in California don't limit their diet to just acorns. NPR's Regina Barber reports a group of researchers documented their hunting behavior this year. For the last 12 years, behavioral ecologist Jennifer Smith and her team have been observing a population of California ground squirrels. One day a video from an undergraduate student showed something surprising. One squirrel approaching a vole, targeting that vole, biting it at the neck and taking it down, eventually crunching through the skull and then eating the

meat from the bones. There has been evidence in the past of rare cases of squirrels eating roadkill, insects, or even taking sparrows. But this is the first time all stages of the hunt have been documented as a behavior of a squirrel population. Regina Barber and PR News. On the second to last trading day on Wall Street for 2024. All three indexes are likely to finish the year with strong double-digit increases. The NASDAQ is up 29.5%, the S&P 23%, the Dow Jones 13%. From Washington, you're listening to NPR News.

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