Trump Meets CEOs At Mar-A-Lago, School Shooting In Wisconsin, Pig Kidney Transplant

Summary

Up First from NPR: December 17, 2024

NPR's Up First delivers the three biggest stories of the day with in-depth reporting and analysis. On December 17, 2024, the episode covered significant topics including former President Donald Trump's meetings with CEOs at Mar-A-Lago, a tragic school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, and a groundbreaking pig kidney transplant. Below is a detailed summary of each segment, complete with notable quotes and timestamps for reference.

---

1. Trump Meets CEOs at Mar-A-Lago

Hosts: Steve Inskeep, Michelle Martin
Contributors: Mara Liasson, NPR Senior National Political Correspondent

Former President Donald Trump has been actively engaging with business leaders at his Palm Beach residence, Mar-A-Lago. This marks a shift from his first term, where many CEOs maintained a distance. Now, tech and pharmaceutical CEOs, among others, are seeking closer ties to influence his policies.

Key Highlights:

• Increased Engagement: CEOs are attending dinners and meetings with Trump to advocate for business-friendly policies. For instance, a Japanese investment bank CEO promised to invest $100 billion in the United States ([02:26]).

• Changing Dynamics: Mara Liasson explains, “Some of this is the normal anticipation and enthusiasm that the business community... would have to any new Republican president who's going to cut their taxes and limit regulation” ([03:13]). She adds that Trump's consolidation of the Republican Party and perceived legitimacy after winning the popular vote have contributed to the increased interest from executives.

• Vaccine Policy Discussions: Trump addressed concerns from big pharma leaders about his pick for the Health and Human Services Department, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., labeling him as “much less radical” than expected ([04:28]). However, his stance on vaccines remains ambiguous. He expressed support for the polio vaccine but left room for debate on the link between vaccines and autism, stating, “we're going to find out” ([04:35]).

• Press Conference Conduct: During his first news conference post-election, Trump echoed his campaign rhetoric, claiming achievements like lowering insulin prices—a move primarily credited to the Biden administration—and hinted at legal actions against organizations like the Pulitzer Prizes and the Des Moines Register for unfavorable polling results ([05:21], [06:03]).

Notable Quote:

Mara Liasson ([03:13]): "They're choosing their battles instead of across the board resistance. They believe his mind can be changed on things like TikTok... or cryptocurrency because his family is now in the crypto business."

---

2. School Shooting in Madison, Wisconsin

Hosts: Steve Inskeep, Michelle Martin
Contributors: Sarah Lear, Wisconsin Public Radio

A tragic incident unfolded at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, where a 15-year-old student, Natalie Rupnau (also known as Samantha), opened fire during a study hall, resulting in the deaths of a teacher and a fellow student before taking her own life. Six others were injured.

Key Highlights:

• Immediate Response: A second-grade student called 911 at 10:57 AM to report the shooting. Police Chief Sean Barnes confirmed that officers arrived within four minutes of the call ([07:06], [07:19]).

• Victims and Survivors: Two victims, a teacher and a teenage student, were killed. Six others sustained injuries, with two in critical condition. Survivors and families are grappling with emotional trauma, as highlighted by Marie Jean Charles, a mother of three who fortunately lost none of her sons but anticipates long-term emotional distress ([08:02], [08:30]).

• Investigation Status: Authorities are still determining the motive behind the shooting. A handgun was recovered, and efforts are underway to trace its origins. The police have searched the shooter's home and received cooperation from her family. A subsequent news conference is scheduled to provide more updates, with Chief Barnes advising the public to be cautious of misinformation on social media ([09:00], [09:37]).

Notable Quote:

Sarah Lear ([07:54]): "Police believe the shooting happened inside a study hall where there were students gathered from multiple grades."

---

3. Groundbreaking Pig Kidney Transplant

Hosts: Steve Inskeep, Michelle Martin
Contributors: Rob Stein, NPR Health Correspondent

In a medical milestone, surgeons at NYU Langone Health successfully transplanted a genetically engineered pig kidney into a human patient, Tawana Looney, marking the first of its kind. This innovative procedure aims to address the severe shortage of human organs available for transplant.

Key Highlights:

• The Procedure: Tawana Looney, a 53-year-old from Gadsden, Alabama, underwent a seven-hour operation where a pig kidney, modified to prevent immune rejection, was connected to her blood supply. The successful implantation was confirmed when the kidney began functioning, producing urine ([10:08], [11:18]).

• Patient's Perspective: Looney expressed immense gratitude and optimism, stating, “I feel blessed. I'm excited... I got a second chance in life” ([10:39], [12:45]).

• Medical Significance and Risks: While this achievement offers hope for those awaiting transplants, there are concerns regarding the transmission of zoonotic diseases, ethical considerations surrounding the use of animal organs, and the necessity of extensive genetic modifications. Previous attempts with different modifications have resulted in fatalities, but Looney's relatively good health provides cautious optimism ([12:52], [13:34]).

• Future Implications: If successful, this could lead to a sustainable supply of organs from genetically modified animals, potentially saving countless lives. However, continuous research and stringent safety protocols are essential to address the associated risks ([13:00], [13:34]).

Notable Quote:

Rob Stein ([12:09]): "The hope is that someday genetically modified pigs could provide an unlimited supply of kidneys, livers, hearts and other organs to help solve the organ shortage."

---

Conclusion

The December 17, 2024, episode of Up First from NPR provided comprehensive coverage of pressing national and medical issues. From the nuanced dynamics of former President Trump's post-election interactions with business leaders, the heartbreaking incident in a Wisconsin school, to a pioneering medical achievement in organ transplantation, the episode offered listeners a thorough understanding of the day's most significant events.

---

For more updates and in-depth stories, subscribe to NPR's Up First and support your local NPR station at donate.npr.org.

Transcript

[Steve Inskeep]

CEO's and foreign leaders have been visiting Mar A Lago.

[Michelle Martin]

Some kept their distance from President Trump in his first term, but are now trying to get close enough to persuade him. What did he say about his visitors and other things in a post election news conference.

[Steve Inskeep]

I'm Steve Inskeep with Michelle Martin and this is up first from NPR News. Here is how the day unfolded at a Wisconsin school.

[Michelle Martin]

A second grade student called 911 to report a shooting at school.

[Steve Inskeep]

What do police know about the student who opened fire killing two people and then herself?

[Michelle Martin]

And a gene edited pig kidney has for the first time been transplanted into a human. I feel like a whole new person, like I got a second chance in life. What does this mean for people desperately waiting for an organ? Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

[Rob Stein]

Support for NPR and the following message come from SimpliSafe. If you ever worry about the safety of your home and family, there's no better time to act than during SimpliSafe's massive Black Friday deals. Protect your home at SimpliSafe's lowest prices of the year. Right now, SimpliSafe is offering listeners 50% off any new system with a select professional monitoring plan. This is their best offer of the year. Head to simplisafe.com upfirst. There's no safe like SimpliSafe. This message comes from BetterHelp. This holiday season, do something for a special person in your life. You give yourself the gift of better mental health. BetterHelp online therapy connects you with a qualified therapist via phone, video or live chat. It's convenient and affordable and can be done from the comfort of your own home. Having someone to talk to is truly a gift, especially during the holidays. Visit betterhelp.com NPR to get 10% off your first month.

[Michelle Martin]

This message comes from Noom.

[Steve Inskeep]

Using psychology and biology to build personal meal plans to fit your lifestyle, taking into account dietary restrictions, medical issues and other personal needs. With daily lessons that are personalized to you and your goals. Noom's flexible program focuses on progress instead of perfection to help you build new.

[Michelle Martin]

Habits for a healthier lifestyle. Sign up for your trial [e-mail] President elect Donald Trump has been holding court from his home in Palm Beach, Florida.

[Steve Inskeep]

Business leaders have been making their way there, tech CEOs, pharma CEOs, and yesterday, the CEO of a Japanese investment bank promising to spend $100 billion in the United States. The president elect talked about this at his first news conference since the election. This is one of the big differences, I think, between we were talking about it before. One of the big differences between the first term and the first term, everybody was fighting me in this term. Everybody wants to be my friend. In truth, some people wanted to be his friend last time. But there is a difference. People who don't like this say wealthy people are bending the knee. But how do the executives see it?

[Michelle Martin]

NPR senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson was watching and she's with us now. Good morning, Mara.

[Mara Liasson]

Good morning.

[Michelle Martin]

So the president elect says everybody's trying to be his friend. Sounds about right.

[Mara Liasson]

Yeah, it does. Some of this is the normal anticipation and enthusiasm that the business community, billionaires, Wall street would have to any new Republican president who's going to cut their taxes and limit regulation. Some of it's because Trump's takeover of the Republican Party is now complete. There are no more Romneys and Flakes and Cheneys around. And some of it is that he's seen as a more legitimate president this time because he won the popular vote. But a lot of it is just a change in the approach of foreign leaders and business leaders and Democrats. They are using a different way to resist Trump compared to his first term. They're choosing their battles instead of across the board resistance. They believe his mind can be changed on things like TikTok, which now he sees as useful to him, or cryptocurrency because his family is now in the crypto business. So I think it's a different kind of resistance.

[Michelle Martin]

He talked about various dinners he's having with the CEOs. What stood out to you there?

[Mara Liasson]

Well, you know, he described a dinner he had with two big pharma CEOs and that industry's lobbying group. They're concerned about his pick for Health and Human Services Department, Robert F. Kennedy, who is an anti vaccine activist. Here's how Trump described RFK Jr. No.

[Steve Inskeep]

I think he's going to be much less radical than you would think. I think he's got a very open mind or I wouldn't have put him there. He's going to be very much less radical.

[Mara Liasson]

So he was asked about his own views on vaccines and he gave full support to the polio vaccine. He said it's not going anywhere. But Trump did leave the door open to those who believe that vaccines are linked to autism, something that has been widely debunked. He said, quote, we're going to find out. He also wasn't clear about his position on vaccine mandates. He was asked if schools should mandate vaccines and he said, I'm not a big mandate person. But he also gave the pharma executives something they wanted. He was very hard on pharmacy benefit managers who pharmaceutical companies blame for price hikes. He scornfully referred to them as middlemen.

[Michelle Martin]

Well, he. And he also invited reporters into his home for a press conference. I think this is the first one since the election. Just say more about that. How did it go?

[Mara Liasson]

Well, it was a bit like all of his rallies in the campaign condensed into an hour and 10 minutes. He covered a lot of the same ground. He said that everything was pretty much perfect when he was president. There were no wars, no inflation. Now that he's going to be president again, he said things will be great again. There were a lot of exaggeration. And that he won the youth vote by 34% or that he brought down the price of insulin to $35, which although he did something on that, it was Biden who brought it down to $35. And there were still a lot of grievances. He talked about how he was going to sue the board of the Pulitzer Prizes and the Des Moines Register for publishing a poll that showed him losing. So very similar to the old Trump.

[Michelle Martin]

That is NPR's Mara Lyson. Mara, thank you.

[Mara Liasson]

You're welcome.

[Michelle Martin]

An all too familiar ritual took place at a church outside of Madison, Wisconsin, last night, a vigil for the victims and the survivors of a school shooting. Yesterday at Abundant Life Christian School, Pastor.

[Steve Inskeep]

Marcus Allen worked to comfort the crowd with prayer.

[Michelle Martin]

We just ask that you calm the hearts of parents on tonight to take a chance by sending their kids to school, a place that should be safe for them.

[Steve Inskeep]

Police say a teenager opened fire at that school yesterday, killing two people and then herself. Six others are wounded.

[Michelle Martin]

Sarah Lear of Wisconsin Public Radio has been following the story and she's with us now. Good morning, Sarah.

[Sarah Lear]

Hello.

[Michelle Martin]

So what do we know now about what happened inside the school?

[Sarah Lear]

Madison Police Chief Sean Barnes says the first law enforcement officers arrived at the school on the east side of the city of Madison within four minutes of a second grader calling 911.

[Michelle Martin]

Gonna let that soak in for a minute. A second grade student called 911 at 10:57am to report a shooting at school.

[Sarah Lear]

Police believe the shooting happened inside a study hall where there were students gathered from multiple grades. The two people killed by the shooter are a teacher and a teenage student.

[Michelle Martin]

So as we, as we just heard, we know that the shooting occurred at the school late yesterday morning. I know that the police spoke to the public several times throughout the day. And finally last night, the police chief, Sean Barnes, as you just told us, he told us some details about the shooter. Could you just remind us of what he said?

[Sarah Lear]

Yes. So the shooter has been id'd as 15 year old Natalie Rupnau. Her first name was Natalie, but she went by Samantha. Police say she died of what's believed to be a self inflicted gunshot wound.

[Michelle Martin]

And what do we know about the survivors? How are they doing?

[Sarah Lear]

As of late Monday, police said at least two students were in critical condition with life threatening injuries. Other victims, including a teacher, suffered injuries that weren't life threatening. One mother, Marie Jean Charles, has three boys who all go to school at Abundant Christian. And she was relieved that none of her sons were injured. But she also says she expects them to have emotional trauma for a long time.

[Michelle Martin]

This is not okay. If your kids are at school, they are not okay. If they are church, they are not okay. If they are outside elsewhere, they are not okay. Well, where are they going to be safe?

[Sarah Lear]

When Jean Charles was reunited with her boys on Monday, she says she cried and prayed. But she also says thoughts and prayers aren't enough.

[Michelle Martin]

Sarah, obviously there are some things we still want to know. And I mean chief among them is why? Like why? But what else are the authorities saying? That they're still investigating.

[Sarah Lear]

Right. So the biggest question why? That's still unclear. Police say they're still trying to piece together a motive. Officers have recovered a handgun from the scene. Madison police say they're working with federal officials to trace the origins of the gun. The police chief said late Monday it's not clear how exactly a 15 year old got this gun. Officers have searched the shooter's home in Madison. They searched it on Monday and police say the family of the shooter has been cooperative.

[Michelle Martin]

So are the authorities saying they're going to share more as they know more?

[Sarah Lear]

Yes. There's another news conference set for this afternoon and Madison's police chief has warned people to be wary of rumors and misinformation on social media.

[Michelle Martin]

That is Sarah Lear of Wisconsin Public Radio. Sarah, thank you so much.

[Sarah Lear]

Thank you for having me.

[Steve Inskeep]

We can reveal this morning what doctors have done for the first time to save people who need organ transplants.

[Michelle Martin]

Surgeons have implanted a new kind of engineered pig kidney into a living person.

[Steve Inskeep]

Pig kidney, human being. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein was in the operating room during the procedure. The only journalist in there. Hi there, Rob.

[Rob Stein]

Hey, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

Wow, what an experience. What was it like?

[Rob Stein]

You know, it was quite dramatic. I met the patient at NYU Langone Health in New York City, just minutes before she was wheeled to the OR. Her name is Tawana Looney. She's 53, from Gadsden, Alabama. How you feeling this morning?

[Michelle Martin]

I feel blessed. I'm excited.

[Rob Stein]

Why are you excited to get a kidney?

[Michelle Martin]

You know, it's gonna change my life. We gonna make history today.

[Rob Stein]

Looney's immune system would reject a human kidney. So the FDA let her get a pig kidney that's been genetically engineered so her body could accept it. Even though this is all very experimental.

[Steve Inskeep]

This is blowing my mind because you're telling me, Rob, not just that people are using a pig kidney because human organs are in short supply, which they are. They're pig kidney because they think in this case, it is the best choice, better than a human organ for this person. So how did this operation come together?

[Rob Stein]

As one team of surgeons started preparing Looney for the kidney, another team flew to rural Virginia to retrieve two kidneys from a modified pig cloned at a biotech company's research farm. After the chopper returned with the kidneys, the surgeon stitched one of them to Looney's blood supply, then started blood flowing from Looney's body into the pig kidney for the first time. Let's give a listen. I'm taking the clamp off of the vein.

[Sarah Lear]

You'll see it'll be kind of a little bit dark colored initially.

[Rob Stein]

And now I'm taking the clamp off the artery. And it should be nice and pink.

[Sarah Lear]

Yeah, beautiful.

[Rob Stein]

Then, Steve, the next test came. That's when surgeons made sure the kidney was doing its job, which is making urine.

[Michelle Martin]

Wow.

[Steve Inskeep]

Beautiful. Gorgeous.

[Rob Stein]

Just pouring out. And here's what Dr. Robert Montgomery, the lead surgeon, said right after the seven hour operation.

[Steve Inskeep]

When you really think about what we just did, it's pretty amazing.

[Rob Stein]

Why is that? Putting a pig organ in a human being and having it work right away, and it's like Star wars stuff, right?

[Steve Inskeep]

I especially like the applause there, Rob. So what happens now?

[Rob Stein]

So far, the pig kitty seems to be working great. In fact, Looney was discharged earlier than expected to an apartment near the hospital where doctors are keeping a close eye on her. I visited her there two weeks after the surgery. Sal, how are you doing?

[Michelle Martin]

I am doing wonderful. It's amazing. I feel like a whole new person. Like I got a second chance in life.

[Rob Stein]

Now, Steve, it's important to point out that two other patients who got pig kidneys with different modifications died within weeks of their operations. So did two men who got genetically modified pig hearts. But the pig organs seemed to work well. In those cases, and they were much sicker than Looney. So doctors are hopeful this time. And the hope is that someday genetically modified pigs could provide an unlimited supply of kidneys, livers, hearts and other organs to help solve the organ shortage. But, you know, it's important to point out that there are worries about all this, about pig organs spreading dangerous viruses to people, about breeding and slaughtering thousands of pigs just for their organs, and about experimenting on desperately ill patients like this. So there's still a lot to be worked out.

[Steve Inskeep]

Well, thanks for your eyewitness account, Rob. Really appreciate it.

[Rob Stein]

You bet, Steve.

[Steve Inskeep]

NPR health correspondent Rob Stein.

[Michelle Martin]

And that's up first for Tuesday, December 17th. I'm Michelle Martin.

[Steve Inskeep]

And I'm Steve Inskeep. There's an easy way to stay connected to news and podcasts from the NPR network. It's the NPR app. You hear community coverage from your local station. Remember, public media are in just about every community in this country. So you hear community coverage from your station along with stories from across the nation and around the world. And podcast suggestions based on what you like. Download the NPR app in your App Store.

[Michelle Martin]

Today's episode of Up first was edited by Roberta Ramton, Cheryl Poorly, Scott Hensley, H.J. mai, and Mohammed El Bardisi. It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nia Dumas, and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott, and our technical director is Carly Strange. And we hope you'll join us again tomorrow.

[Rob Stein]

Want to hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon prime members can listen to Upfirst sponsor free through Amazon Music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get up first [e-mail] that's plus.NPR.org this message comes from Bombas. Their slippers are designed with cushioning so every step feels marshmallowy soft. Plus, for every item purchased, Bombas donates to someone in need. Go to bombas.com NPR and use code NPR for 20% off your first order. This message comes from Thuma. Create your oasis with Thooma, a modern design company that specializes in furniture and home goods. Thooma's core collection, the classic bed, nest, dresser and pillar bookshelf, combines craftsmanship, simplicity and functionality, bringing inspiration and purpose to every home. To explore Thooma's entire collection, visit Thooma Co or the flagship location in New York City. Pieces ship quickly and arrive straight to your door. To get $100 towards your first bed purchase, go to Thuma Co.