NPR News: 12-24-2024 1AM EST

18.083 - 37.44 Joel Rose

More than 119 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles from home between December 21st and New Year's Day, according to a forecast from AAA. That would set a new record for the holiday season, barely eclipsing the pre-pandemic total from 2019. The U.S. air travel system is also bracing for its busiest holiday season ever.

37.895 - 52.301 Joel Rose

TSA, the Transportation Security Administration, is expecting 40 million people to pass through security checkpoints, a 6 percent jump from last year. December 27th and 30th will be some of the busiest days to fly. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington.

52.441 - 70.155 Shea Stevens

High surf warnings continue along the California coast following a city pier collapse on Monday in Santa Cruz. Two engineers who had been working at the site were rescued while a third swam to safety. Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley says 150 feet of the wharf is gone, but he fears there could be even more damage.

70.395 - 83.773 Fred Keeley

We have not had a thorough inspection of all of this. I'm giving you a first impression is that perhaps the rest of the wharf may do better. but we are thinking that we could, in fact, sustain greater damage.

83.813 - 102.284 Shea Stevens

Haley says the public is advised to avoid the area. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service had predicted dangerous surf conditions and waves up to 30 feet from the central Oregon coast through southwestern Washington state. President Biden has vetoed legislation calling for 66 new federal judgeships.

102.885 - 122.941 Shea Stevens

The measure would have given three presidential administrations and six congresses the opportunity to appoint the new trial court judges, but Biden says the proposal did not address questions about how long those judges could remain on the bench. The proposal was introduced in the House and swiftly approved by both chambers of Congress after last month's election.

123.822 - 137.758 Shea Stevens

A Palestinian Authority guard has been killed in clashes with militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. As NPR's Emily Fang reports, it was the second such death there in as many days amid fighting between competing Palestinian factions.

138.12 - 158.297 Emily Fang

The Palestinian security authorities have been trying to firmly police the West Bank and demonstrate their capabilities. This month, they've mounted raids against other Palestinians, most decisively against armed groups in the Janine refugee camp, long known as a hub for militants. In the fighting, Palestinian authorities said a second security officer had been killed by Islamist militants.

158.997 - 176.432 Emily Fang

This crackdown on militants has been unpopular among Junid residents in the West Bank, but the U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces are trying to show they have a functional police force and could be trusted to govern Gaza after the war against Israel ends. Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv, Israel.

177.292 - 202.974 Shea Stevens

This is NPR News. The suspect in the killing of a New York subway passenger early Sunday has been charged with murder and arson. 33-year-old Sebastian Zepeda Khalil is charged with setting fire to a woman who had been sleeping on a train that was parked at a station on Coney Island. Investigators say Zepeda Khalil is a militant from Guatemala who entered the U.S.