NPR News: 12-18-2024 8PM EST
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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President-elect Donald Trump and VP-elect J.D. Vance are attacking a bipartisan measure aimed at preventing a government shutdown after midnight Friday. President-elect Trump basically telling House Speaker Mike Johnson to blow up the agreement and threatening any Republican lawmakers who break ranks. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, however, was quick to note if there is a government shutdown, Republicans will be to blame.
House Republicans... will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people that results from a government shutdown or worse. An agreement is an agreement. It was bipartisan. And there was nothing more to say.
Trump, along with entrepreneur Elon Musk, who co-chairs a government efficiency advisory committee, claimed the stopgap spending bill is a giveaway to Democrats. The White House said a government shutdown would endanger government services and hurt communities recovering from disasters. California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in response to the ongoing spread of bird flu and dairy cattle, the declaration a sign of growing concern over the situation in California. NPR's Will Stone has more.
More than 300 dairy herds have tested positive in California in the last 30 days alone. The governor said that cases detected in dairy cows on farms in Southern California showed the need for expanded monitoring and a more coordinated statewide response. There's no evidence of ongoing human-to-human spread in California or the rest of the country, but scientists warn that uncontrolled spread in dairy cattle heightens the risk of spillover into humans, which could give the virus a chance to acquire dangerous mutations. The state of emergency in California comes on the heels of another worrying development, the first severe illness in a U.S. resident linked to bird flu. That was reported in a Louisiana resident who tested positive after being exposed to sick birds. Will Stone, NPR News.
The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter percentage point today, but hinted at fewer rate cuts next year. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the news triggered a sharp sell-off on the stock market.
All the major stock indexes dropped sharply after the Fed signaled that it may keep interest rates higher for longer than investors had expected. On average, members of the central bank's rate-setting committee now expect rates to fall just half a percentage point in 2025, not the full point they were projecting back in September. Inflation has been sticky in recent months, and some of President-elect Donald Trump's policy proposals could push prices higher. Given that, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says it makes sense to proceed with caution.
It's not unlike driving on a foggy night or walking into a dark room full of furniture.
Powell says the U.S. economy continues to perform well, giving the Fed more latitude to take its time in lowering rates. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
The Dow fell more than 1,100 points, a drop of 2.5%. The Nasdaq fell 716 points today. You're listening to NPR. President-elect Donald Trump's pick by the nation's next health secretary is making the rounds on Capitol Hill. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expected to meet with as many as 20 senators this week. And while some are receptive, Kennedy's also likely to meet with some more skeptical lawmakers, including Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who's had questions about his stance on vaccines, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who said he looks forward to hearing more. Halfway through the meetings, no Republicans have signaled, though they intend to block the nomination, with Republicans holding a 53-47 majority. Once a new Senate is sworn in, Kennedy cannot afford to lose more than three GOP votes if all Democrats oppose him. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has lost a final appeal in a fraud case and has been sentenced to one year in prison.
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