NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-25-2024 8AM EDT

Episode Date: October 25, 2024

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Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. Both presidential candidates will campaign in Texas today. Former President Donald Trump will campaign with Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Vice President Harris will campaign with Cruz's opponent, Democratic Congressman Colin Allred.

And Bear's Deepa Shivaram tells us both Trump and Harris will also be guests on popular podcasts. Polls show that there's a huge gender divide in this campaign. Women overwhelmingly favor Harris and men favoring Trump. And today's Texas Stop kind of highlights that. Trump is taping the Joe Rogan podcast in Austin, which is a podcast that's very popular with young men. And it's a demographic he's trying to get out the vote with. Meanwhile, Harris is in Houston. She's taping a podcast with Brene Brown.

It's popular among women. NPR's Deepa Shivaram reporting. The U.S. Postal Service is urging mail-in voters to return their ballots early because Election Day is fewer than two weeks away. As NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports, some parts of the country have been experiencing delays and other problems with election mail. U.S. Postal Service officials say close to 98 percent of mail-in ballots were delivered on time in the first three weeks of October.

But there have been some isolated local glitches, including in Pennsylvania. Izria Marshall says this week the Postal Service started doing the extra deliveries and special pickups it usually does in the final weeks before a general election's last day of voting. We encourage anyone choosing to vote by mail to please mail early. Marshall says mail-in voters should return their ballots at least one week before their state's deadlines. And to make sure those ballots get a postmark, simply bring in your ballot to make sure it's postmarked from your local post office.

Some states require postmarks as proof that a ballot was returned on time. Hansi Lawong and PR News. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in London for meetings with the leaders of three Middle Eastern countries. As Robbie Griffiths reports, the meetings are the last stop on his latest tour, which hopes to slow the escalating violence in the region. Blinken met with the Lebanese caretaker prime minister to discuss the Israeli military campaign in the region. should not lead to a protracted campaign in Lebanon and urged Israel to protect civilians. Lebanese state media said an Israeli airstrike killed three journalists in southern Lebanon overnight.

For NPR News, I'm Robbie Griffiths in London. UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon say troops with the Israeli military fired on a group of them this week. The peacekeepers say they were in a permanent UN station when Israeli troops saw them and started shooting. The peacekeepers withdrew, but the UN says they are remaining in Lebanon. at UN station when Israeli troops saw them and started shooting. The peacekeepers withdrew.

But the UN says they are remaining in Lebanon. The UN adds Israel is obligated to ensure peacekeepers' safety and any deliberate attack violates international humanitarian law. This is NPR. It's been one year since an army reservist shot and killed 18 people at several sites around Lewiston, Maine, the gunman injured 13 more people and then took his own life. Lewiston residents are honoring the victims today with ceremonies and moments of silence. American flags in Maine and Maine state flags are at half-staff. Recovery crews are still tallying the damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The price tag is expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

NPR's Scott Horsley reports that's likely to make already costly insurance policies even more expensive. The hurricanes that battered Florida and North Carolina this fall are just the latest in a series of costly catastrophes that have sent insurance premiums soaring at double-digit rates. Doug Heller, who tracks insurance at the Consumer Federation of America, says last year saw more than two dozen billion dollar storms. We are seeing more climate-driven catastrophes. The storms are more severe. They seem to be happening more frequently and that is showing up in the data. Heller warns much

of the damage from Hurricane Helene won't be covered by insurance. Homeowners' policies don't protect against flood damage, and many of those whose homes were underwater did not have flood insurance. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. A federal judge is blocking the merger of two leading fashion companies, Tapestry and Capri. Tapestry has companies such as Coach and Kate Spade.

Capri has Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors. The judge sided with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC said the proposed merger would cut competition among makers of affordable luxury handbags. podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.