NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-25-2024 7PM EDT

Episode Date: October 25, 2024

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With more electoral college votes than any other swing state, Pennsylvania is largely seen as the make or break battleground. Getting those last couple yards in the red zone in Pennsylvania is really, really tough. The presidential candidates have their eyes on it and so do we. All this week on the Consider This Podcast from NPR. Come along. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Campaigning in Texas today, Vice President Kamala Harris took aim at her rival Donald

Trump for comments the Republican presidential candidate made in Arizona. During an event there last night, Trump referring to the U.S. as, quote, a garbage can for the world, claiming other countries send criminals here. Harris called it just another example of Trump belittling the country. This is someone who is a former president of the United States who has a bully pulpit. And this is how he uses it to tell the rest of the world that somehow the United States of America is trash. Trump has repeatedly said if elected, he'll carry out mass deportations

that will break records. He kicked off his remarks by slamming a judge ordering Virginia to restore voters who are purged from the state's voter rolls close to election day. Former President Trump made campaign stops in Texas today as well. Trump held a small event in Austin

while in town to record an interview for Joe Rogan's podcast and viewers Ashley Lopez As more Joe Rogan has the most listened to podcast in the country and it's particularly popular with young men Which is a demographic Trump continues to court heavily even as he tries to broaden his base of support While in Austin the Trump campaign also held a small event focused on immigration besides blaming migrants for a series series of crimes, he criticized his opponent, who was also campaigning in the state. Today, Kamala is here in Texas to rub shoulders with woke celebrities. Isn't that exciting?

But she's not going to meet with any of the victims of migrant crime. Harris is capping her day in Texas with a big event in Houston featuring Beyonce. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has decided the paper will not endorse anyone in this year's presidential race. The first time since 1988, NPR's David Falkenfleck broke the story and reports that the head of the paper's editorial page has already approved backing Vice President Kamala Harris. The Washington Post reporters have uncovered wrongdoing by former President Donald Trump and his associates while in office.

The editorial page, which operates separately, has repeatedly characterized Trump as being unfit for that office. Publisher Will Lewis told readers the paper sought to return to its roots of decades ago when it did not endorse presidential candidates. The paper's editorial writers were outraged. Editor-at-large Robert Kagan has resigned. It's the prerogative of newspaper owners to make such decisions, and it is common they do so. In this case, an editorial endorsing Harris was already in the works. The move follows a similar decision by Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soonshong.

David Folkenflick, NPR News. David Folkenflick, NPR News. The former longtime CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch's pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges. Michael Jeffries declined to comment today after entering the plea in federal court in New York. He's free on $10 million bond. On Wall Street, stocks closed lower.

The Dow is down 259 points. You're listening to NPR. Three astronauts and a cosmonaut who were aboard the International Space Station for almost eight months are back on Earth, a SpaceX capsule carrying the crew parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico just off the Florida coast before dawn today. Three Americans and one Russian should have returned from the ISS two months ago, but were delayed by problems with Boeing's Starliner capsule. Shortly after splashdown, NASA says one astronaut had a medical issue,

but the agency says that person is now in stable condition and hospitalized as a precautionary measure. Wildfires have destroyed large parts of Brazil's Amazon rainforest this year. The region is in the second year of a record-breaking drought. NPR's Kerry Kahn reports satellite analysis of fires shows the number of acres destroyed by blazes at the highest level in decades. According to satellite data obtained by the Associated Press, fires devastated an area of the Amazon the size of Switzerland so far this year.

That's an increase of more than 800% over the same period last year. A thick smoky haze has covered multiple states in the Amazon, producing some of the worst air quality in the world. Scientists attribute the fire's widespread destruction to the current drought in the Amazon now in its second year, which is tied to global warming. However, officials in Brazil say criminals are also to blame as they take advantage of the record dry conditions and set fires to clear land for illegal uses. Federal police say they're working to expand efforts to combat such environmental crimes.

Kerry Cahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro. Crude oil futures prices after bouncing around a bit closed higher oil up more than two and a quarter percent to $71.78 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.