Loading summary
Transcript13 lines
- [00:01]
NPR Sponsor/Advertiser
This message comes from Grammarly. From emails to reports and project proposals, it's hard to meet the demands of today's competing priorities without some help. Grammarly is the essential AI communication assistant that boosts your productivity at work so you can get more of what you need done faster. Just a few clicks can tailor your tone and writing so you come across exactly as you intend. Get time back to focus on your high impact work. Download Grammarly for free@Grammarly.com podcast that's Grammarly.com
- [00:31]
Korva Coleman
podcast live from NPR News. In Washington, I'm KORVA COLEMAN. The U.S. supreme Court has issued an order this morning that's been sought by President Trump's ally, right wing activist Steve Bannon. The court's order could lead to a dismissal of Bannon's contempt of Congress conviction. He had refused to talk to the House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters. Bannon did spend four months in prison for failing to respond to the committee's subpoena, but he and the Trump administration are still trying to have the case thrown out. The US Supreme Court's action has now paved the way for a lower court to do that. President Trump will hold a news conference today at the White House about the war in Iran. He has set a deadline of tomorrow night for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. NPR's Kerry Khan says Iran continues to fire on Israel and other Persian Gulf nations.
- [01:26]
Kerry Kahn
Kuwait has been hit hard this morning, as well as the uae. Both countries report intercepting multiple missiles from Iran, and there's much concern in the Gulf that if Iran does escalate attacks there, its air defense systems may be unable to handle that increased fire. And in terms of any diplomatic actions on the horizon, officials across the region from Oman, Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt say they are exploring all avenues.
- [01:53]
Korva Coleman
NPR's Carrie Kahn reporting. Stocks opened higher this morning as the price of gasoline continues to climb. NPR's Scott Horsley reports. The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 80 points in early trading.
- [02:07]
Scott Horsley
AAA says the average price of gasoline nationwide is now around $4.12 a gallon. Pump prices have jumped sharply in the last five weeks since the US And Israel launched their war against Iran. OPEC and its allies said over the weekend they would boost oil production, but the move has little practical effect so long as Iran continues to choke off most shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Japan and South Korea are exploring alternate shipping routes for oil. ST indexes in the two countries rose overnight while trading was closed in Hong Kong and Shanghai for a holiday. Workers at a giant meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, are halting their three week old strike and resuming contract negotiations. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
- [02:47]
Korva Coleman
The Department of Homeland Security remains partially shut down. Congress has not yet passed a spending bill. Now Congress is on recess for the holidays. House Speaker Rather House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is urging Speaker Mike Johnson to recall his chamber and vote on a DHS funding bill. Jeffries says the Senate has passed a bipartisan bill twice.
- [03:10]
Hakeem Jeffries
Every single Democrat, every single Republican in the Senate supports that legislation. House Democrats support that legislation. So we can reopen every other aspect of the Department of Homeland Security, including tsa, Coast Guard, FEMA and our cybersecurity professionals, while continuing to work on the effort to get ice under control.
- [03:30]
Korva Coleman
You're listening to npr. States are making decisions about how they will spend the first round of grants from a $50 billion fund. It is meant to help rural health care survive major cuts to Medicaid. In more than two dozen states, there are plans to what's called right size rural health hospitals. But Montana Public Radio's Aaron Bolton reports the states could face the prospect of cutting services instead of saving them.
- [04:00]
Aaron Bolton
Big Sandy Medical center in north central Montana serves its namesake town of about 800. Former CEO Ron Wiens says the hospital struggles to make payroll each month. He had hoped Montana would spend some of its expected $1.2 billion from the Rural Health Transformation Fund to financially stabilize facilities like his. But the state wants hospitals to admit fewer patients and to instead offer more outpatient care. In some cases, the state might ask hospital hospitals to simply cut services.
- [04:34]
Unnamed Hospital Administrator
That's what has all the hospitals on pins and needles.
- [04:37]
Aaron Bolton
Hospital administrators say that would be a detriment to small communities. For NPR News, I'm Erin Bolton in Columbia Falls, Montana.
- [04:47]
Korva Coleman
The Artemis crew will start its flyby of the moon later today. The astronauts will fly around the dark side of the moon. They'll take photographs and observations of the lunar surface that satellites have not been able to see. The astronauts will also be out of contact with Earth for about an hour. That's when they are behind the moon. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.
- [05:13]
NPR Sponsor/Advertiser
This message comes from NPR sponsor the NPR Wine Club, a place to find boutique wines from around the world and bottles inspired by popular NPR shows, as well as to explore the producers, regions and exciting stories that bring each selection to life. Whether you buy a few bottles or join the club, all purchases support NPR programming and help fund quality reporting. You can learn more@nprwineclub.org podcast must be 21 or older to purchase.