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

Episode Date: October 26, 2024

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As we're all navigating a divisive election, no matter what happens, the question remains, how the heck are we going to move forward together? So in this season of the StoryCorps Podcast from NPR, stories from people who made a choice to confront the conflicts in their own lives head on, and in sharing stories from the bravest among us, maybe we can take their lead and find some hope for the rest of us. Get the StoryCorps podcast wherever you listen. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. There are reports of explosions in the Iranian capital and the nearby city of Karaj tonight. In a statement, the Israeli

Defense Forces say they're conducting, quote, precise strikes on military targets in Iran. Daniel Higari is lead spokesman for the IDF. The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7th on seven fronts, including direct attacks from Iranian soil. Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond. Israel has been planning response to a ballistic missile barrage carried out

by Iran earlier this month. Iran for its part has warned any strike will be met by a stronger retaliation. As Vice President Kamala Harris tries to court moderate Republicans, some of the left flank of the Democratic party are anxious she is leaving votes on the table, North Memphias Asmohallan. In these final days of the election, Harris has been sounding the alarms about a second

possible Donald Trump presidency and the danger to democracy. She's also touting support from Republicans and that all makes some progressive Democrats wary. I don't think that argument will seal the deal. Joseph Givarghese is the director of the group Our Revolution that spun out of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential run. I think voters are looking for an economic message and that should be the closing argument. When asked about this concern by a reporter, Harris said that Americans can hold many thoughts at once.

Asma Khalid, NPR News. Well, pocketbook issues are always big in election years. Democratic strategist James Carville famously said it's the economy stupid during Bill Clinton's campaign, perhaps even more so this time. In Pittsburgh, people like Eudora Diamond have seen egg prices rise by 40 percent since last year, which is why she supports former President Trump. Even though he believes in the trickle down effect, I just know how it was when he was in office. Financially, I was much better. In Pittsburgh's Hazelwood area, Bruce Thornton and his wife Emily own a juice bar, and while also struggling with higher prices, he's going

the other way. The reason why she's getting my vote is because I think it'll be a little bit, maybe a little better, I don't know, for us than the other, than the alternative. Pennsylvania, meanwhile, remains a toss-up, as does the race nationally, less than two weeks from election day. Two more members of the Los Angeles Times editorial board say they are resigning after the paper's owner blocked its plan to endorse Democrat Kamala Harris for president.

Two veteran journalists, Robert Greene and Karen Klein, announcing their resignations today. A similar announcement by the Washington Post has prompted consternation at that paper, a decision reportedly made by billionaire owner Jeff Bezos. Stocks lost some ground on Wall Street today, the Dow is down 259 points. This is NPR. Phil Lesh, one of the founding members of jam band pioneers, the Grateful Dead has died. He was 84 years old. His family shared the news on Instagram. NPR's Isabella Sarmiento has this appreciation. Phil

Lesh didn't know how to play bass when Jerry Garcia asked him to join his rock band, but the trumpet player said yes anyway, and in 1965, the Grateful Dead was born. The group's improvisational style fueled a counterculture scene that defined an era and a subculture that endured. The band amassed fans for decades, and Lesh found his footing not only as a bassist, but sometimes a vocalist. vocalist. ["Look Out of Any Window"] ["Any Morning"] After Garcia's death in 1995,

Lesh continued to play with his dead bandmates and eventually released several albums with his own group, Phil Lesh and Friends. He played music with his sons, Brian and Graham, until the end of his life. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News. ["Discount Airlines Spirit has been cutting jobs

and also selling some of its airplanes as it looks to deal with mounting financial troubles. Spirit which faces an uncertain future says it's identified $80 million worth of cuts to be implemented early next year. Spirit at one point had hoped to merge with rival JetBlue but that deal was terminated this year when the two airlines said it was unlikely to receive the necessary legal and regulatory approvals to move ahead. Spirit is now reported to be in preliminary talks with rival Frontier about a possible

merger. Crude oil futures prices after bouncing around a bit closed sharply higher today oil up more than 2.25% to settle at $71.78 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear in PR News in Washington.