NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-31-2024 3PM EST

Episode Date: December 31, 2024

NPR News: 12-31-2024 3PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. The U.S. Treasury Department is working with the FBI and national security officials to investigate a breach earlier this month of several Treasury workstations by what is calling a state-sponsored actor in China. The agency says that Chinese hackers' access to Treasury systems has been shut down. The U.S. government is still finding new victims of the widespread espionage campaign from the Chinese hacking group that broke into U.S. telecoms to spy on Washington's elite, and PR's Jenna McLaughlin reports. Government spying on digital communications is nothing new. However, U.S. officials have

been raising the alarm over a Chinese hacking campaign targeting U.S. telecoms, one that has given Beijing broad access to millions of Americans' phone records. Verizon and AT&T say they've finally evicted the Chinese hackers from their networks. But President Biden's Deputy National Security Adviser Ann Neuberger recently said that the U.S. government has found a new victim of the spying operation. President-elect Trump's incoming National Security Advis, Mike Walz, has vowed to use offensive cyberattacks in response to efforts like China's telecom spying. But experts are urging U.S. officials to focus on defense, like basic cyber hygiene, first.

Jen McLaughlin, NPR News. Leaders in Panama are remembering former President Jimmy Carter for negotiating the Panama Canal Treaty, which handed over control of the waterway, an act that President-elect Donald Trump is now threatening to undo. And PR's Rolando Arieta has more. In 1977, President Carter and Panamanian military dictator Omar Torrijos signed treaties that acknowledged the Republic of Panama's sovereignty and declared the canal neutral and open to vessels of all nations.

The Carter administration faced stiff opposition in the U.S. Senate. Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina voiced his by saying, quote, The canal is ours. We bought and paid for it, and we should keep it. Ultimately, however, the treaty set a course for a 20-year staggered transition to Panamanians having full operational control of the Panama Canal. The U.S. also ceded control of the surrounding land known as the Canal Zone. Rolando Arrieta, NPR News. In many parts of the world, it's already 2025.

There were lots of fireworks in Bangkok, Thailand, heralding the new year. A million people gathered at Sydney Harbour in Australia. Two million were expected at Copacabana Beach in Brazil. The weather is not cooperating in the UK, where a storm has moved in, bringing high winds, heavy rain, the possibility of snow and the threat of flooding. In Scotland, Edinburgh's famous Hogmanay festivities from the city's famous castle were called off and celebrations in South Korea have been muted by Sunday's devastating plane crash. Wall Street, the Dow is down 79 points. This is NPR News in Washington.

Around 6 o'clock tonight, New York City kicks off its iconic New Year's Eve celebrations with the rise of the famous crystal ball. By midnight, hundreds of thousands of partiers are expected in Times Square, the designated party space is opening right now, and everyone who enters will be cleared by counter-terrorism authorities. Chairs, big bags, and umbrellas are not permitted and rain is in the forecast. Puerto Ricans found themselves without electricity again overnight, leaving nearly 90 percent of its population in the dark. Kayvon Antonio Hadari files this report from Miami.

Puerto Rico's latest outage was caused by a failed underground line which started a cascade in the outdated electrical grid pulverized by Hurricane Maria in 2017. This leads more than one million people, including Roberto Olson, without power and stranded. Lights went out this morning, early this morning. We can't travel anywhere in the island. All of the traffic lights are out. People are resorting to generators,

but San Juan's airports and flights are functioning normally. Energy company Luma says it could take up to three days for full power restoration. For NPR News, I'm Kevan Antonio Hadari. One of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history has been settled. Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie filed a court

document yesterday saying they had reached a written settlement. She filed for divorce in 2016, but they have been wrestling with the Division of Assets and Child Custody. I'm Louise Schiavone to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.