--:-- Corva Coleman: This message comes from NPR's sponsor, Odoo Business Management Software. Some say Odoo is like fertilizer because it promotes growth. Others say it's a magic beanstalk, scaling with efficiency. Odoo, exactly what a business needs. Sign up today at odoo.com.
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--:-- Corva Coleman: Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up a case challenging its decision legalizing same-sex marriage. It did not comment.
--:-- Corva Coleman: A Kentucky clerk who had once been jailed for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses had asked the high court to revisit its decision, but it refused.
--:-- Corva Coleman: A group of Senate Democrats and an independent senator broke ranks yesterday and voted with Senate Republicans. They passed a procedural vote that would lead to a short-term spending measure.
--:-- Corva Coleman: The aim is to bring the federal government shutdown to an end. The House would have to reconvene to take up the measure, and Speaker Mike Johnson says he is prepared to get started.
--:-- Corva Coleman: The Senate's vote late last night of 60 to 40 opens the door now. The Senate is moving forward on an amended House CR, a continuing resolution, that will reopen the government until January 30th.
--:-- Corva Coleman: The senators say they gotten a promise from the Senate majority leader that the Senate will take up the high premiums that Americans will pay for health insurance next year under the Affordable Care Act
--:-- Corva Coleman: The Trump administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court again to let it stop paying for the federal food assistance program known as SNAP.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Payments have been interrupted during the government shutdown. Late last night, a federal appeals court had ordered the Trump administration to restore full funding to the program.
--:-- Corva Coleman: And Pierre's Tovia Smith has more. A deal to reopen the government could get full payments flowing almost as quickly, but the SNAP laps may have longer-term ramifications.
--:-- Tovia Smith: Food pantries say they expect high demand to continue as many SNAP recipients need to restock their cupboards. And some food banks say they expect to be short on stocks since some large food orders they usually get from the government were not processed during the shutdown.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Tovia Smith, NPR News.
--:-- Corva Coleman: China has added 13 chemical ingredients that can be used to make fentanyl to a list of controlled substances. This is in line with trade talks with the U.S. last month, where China agreed to do more to combat opioid production.
--:-- Corva Coleman: NPR's Emily Fang has more. Fentanyl traffickers have long purchased large quantities of industrial chemicals from Chinese manufacturers mixing them elsewhere and then smuggling the final drug into the U.S.
--:-- Emily Fang: In exchange for China extra controls this week the U.S. agreed to have a tariff it had slapped on Chinese goods in retaliation for what it said was China's lax enforcement of fentanyl precursors.
--:-- Emily Fang: China and the U.S. have cooperated in the past to investigate and arrest precursor makers in China, but that cooperation has been tested by tensions between the two countries, including three years ago when former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island of Taiwan, angering China and prompting Beijing to suspend its fentanyl-combatting operations with the U.S.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Emily Feng, NPR News.
--:-- Corva Coleman: On Wall Street, the Dow is flat. The Nasdaq is up more than 1 percent. This is NPR.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Forecasters say a frigid air mass is hovering over the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. early this week. There are freeze warnings up in southern states from Texas to Virginia, and parts of the Great Lakes are under a winter storm warning.
--:-- Corva Coleman: A new study of people with diet-related diseases points to the benefits of doctors prescribing fresh food.
--:-- Corva Coleman: NPR's Allison Aubrey reports the research is part of an effort to put food at the Center of Preventative Medicine.
--:-- Allison Aubrey: Participants received a monthly stipend loaded onto a debit card that could be used to purchase only fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy items.
--:-- Allison Aubrey: After about six months doctors found participants' blood pressure dropped by 5 millimeters of mercury, a small but significant decline that could reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes over time.
--:-- Allison Aubrey: Peter Skillern of Reinvestment Partners, the North Carolina nonprofit behind the program, says cost is participants' biggest barrier to eating well. This program reduced that barrier and they changed their behavior. They got healthier.
--:-- Allison Aubrey: It's one of several new food-as-medicine studies pointing to benefits.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Alison Aubrey, NPR News.
--:-- Corva Coleman: The Justice Department alleges two Major League Baseball players coordinated with sports bettors to place rigged bets worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Classe and Luis Ortiz are accused of sharing information about their pitches to help gamblers.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Lawyers for both men denied the charges and statements to ESPN.
--:-- Corva Coleman: Ortiz is due in court today. Class A is not currently in custody.
--:-- Corva Coleman: These charges come about two weeks after DOJ indicted some NBA players and coaches over gambling schemes. This is NPR.
--:-- Corva Coleman: This message comes from EasyCater, a business tool for food, helping organizations order food for meetings and events from favorite restaurants, set up meal programs for their employees, and manage food spend all in one place at EasyCater.com.
