Новости за 18.12.2015

Conservatives don't like the price tag and liberals don't like the priorities. Still, Congress is making quick progress on a massive legislative push affecting government spending and business taxes.

Three faith communities in Omaha, Neb. — one Christian, one Jewish, one Muslim — are leaving their old places of worship and building a new, single campus for their mosque, synagogue and church.

Congress looks set to repeal requirements for country-of-origin labels on packages of meat at the grocery store. The labels declare where an animal was born, raised and slaughtered.

A new study finds a pattern of guards abusing inmates at remote High Desert State Prison. That includes a "culture of racism" and mistreating inmates with disabilities.

The mistrial in the first case in the death of Freddie Gray has left Baltimore residents shocked, disappointed, and still deeply distrustful of the justice system. But legal analysts say the case was never a good fit to address the issues that have been driving national protests around police brutality.

The Michael Jackson album Thriller — which was released in 1982 — became the first album in history to reach the 30-times multi-platinum level this week. That means over 30 million copies have been sold in the U.S.

NPR previously reported on the investigation into who bought The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson purchased the paper for $140 million, his family confirmed in a statement Thursday.

One of the provisions attached to the $1.1 trillion spending bill allows companies to share their customers' data with other companies and the government. Backers of the measure say it will help fight cyber attacks. But privacy advocates argue it will give the government easy access to Americans' personal information and does little to stop cyber crimes.

The president is being impeached, the economy is in a great recession, jobs are scarce. This holiday season Brazilians have little to be happy about. But as one observer says, it's better to laugh than cry, and all the bad news is causing an explosion online and in the media of satire.

The young man who caused a huge controversy by trying to jack up the price of a life-saving drug is in the news again. Martin Shkreli was arrested Thursday morning on charges of securities fraud.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Sergey Ananov about his attempt to fly around the world in a solo helicopter weighing less than a ton. He shares his story of survival after crashing in Arctic waters.

The U.N. Security Council meets for the first time on the subject of how to clamp down on the various ways ISIS raises money — from oil sales to extortion.

NPR's Ari Shapiro interviews Jason Bordoff, professor and founding director at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. He was also the former White House energy advisor to President Obama. Bordoff talks about the part of the budget deal this week which lifts the ban on oil exports, and what it means for consumers, industry, the economy and the environment.

The sudden ups and downs of the oil and gas industry can feel like whiplash for rural communities seeing an influx of workers. Affordable housing has been a challenge. With the current slowdown in drilling, rental prices have dropped, but they're still much higher than they were pre-boom, leaving low-income and senior people still struggling to find a place they can afford.

Composer, conductor and teacher Alice Parker turned 90 on Wednesday. She made her name as the primary arranger for the Robert Shaw Chorale for some 20 years. She continues to compose and teach, and she's a much beloved figure in the choral music world — so much so that choral groups all over the world posted performances to YouTube on Wednesday.