NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-26-2024 12PM EDT

Episode Date: October 26, 2024

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All this month, Shortwave is serving up tricks and treats from Ghost Wolf DNA and the science of death to the relationship between anxiety and horror movies with a slate of Halloween episodes to get you in the spirit. This October, subscribe to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. The Israeli military launched strikes on military targets in Iran overnight. The attacks come as the Biden administration has pushed for months to avoid a wider war in the region.

NPR's Azma Khaled reports. A senior administration official told reporters the United States did not participate in Israel's military operation, though President Biden had encouraged Israel to pursue a targeted response. And the U.S. official says that is what has transpired. The Israeli military has said these strikes were in retaliation for months of continuous attacks from Iran against Israel. The Biden administration official says this should now be the end of the direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran. Though if Iran responds, the United States is prepared

to help Israel. The White House insists its aim in the region is to de-escalate tensions. Asma Khalid, NPR News. The president told reporters today that intelligence officials say it appears the strikes only hit military targets. Israeli forces have raided a hospital compound in north Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health. That says Israeli troops have besieged areas in the north since early this month. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf has more. In a video statement, UN human rights chief Volker Turk called what is happening in the north, quote, one of the darkest moments in the Gaza conflict. The Israeli military is subjecting an entire population to bombing, siege and starvation.

Israeli forces breached the Kamal Adwin Hospital, detaining all male staffers and putting women in a room without food or water, according to the Ministry of Health. The hospital had already been struggling to treat its nearly 200 patients. On Friday the Israeli military said it was operating in the area of the hospital based on intelligence of quote terrorists and terrorist infrastructure. It did not respond to NPR's request for further comment. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. For the first time since 1988 the Washington Post is not endorsing a candidate for president. Washington's hometown paper is known for its political coverage. It broke the Watergate story during

the Nixon administration. NPR's David Falkenfleck broke this story. He says the paper's stated reason for the non-endorsement was it wanted to return to its roots, independent of partisan interests. But there may be other factors. David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, NPR's David Falkenfleck, its roots, independent of partisan interests. But there may be other factors. That's happening against a backdrop in which Trump has been attempting to directly and expressly intimidate the press, saying that if he wins office once more, that he will wreak vengeance against it. And if you think about Jeff Bezos, yes, he's the owner of the Post, but of course, the founder of Amazon.

He has a ton of business interests worth billions involving the federal government. Amazon's shipping, its cloud computing contracts, and his space company, Blue Origin, has a multi-billion dollar deal with federal government to take people into the heavens. NPR's David Fulkenflick. More than 1,600 customers canceled their subscriptions within three hours after the story broke. This is NPR News. A video widely circulated on social media Thursday purported to show mail-in ballots for Donald Trump being destroyed in Pennsylvania. The FBI said yesterday it's a fake

and was manufactured by Russia. Local election officials in Bucks County, Pennsylvania had debunked the video within hours, saying the envelopes and ballots shown were not the ones the county uses. Federal officials say the fake was part of Moscow's broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the U.S. election.

Bass player Phil Lesch has died. He was one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead. His family posted on Instagram he died yesterday. Lesch didn't even know how to play the bass when Jerry Garcia asked him to join his band. That became the Grateful Dead and came to define the 1960s acid rock sound. Phil Lesch was 84. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 6-3 in game one of the World Series last night. Steve Futterman reports from Dodger Stadium. This has to go down as one of the most memorable World Series games in history.

There was such a buildup before this series. The Dodgers and Yankees, New York, Los Angeles, Shohei Otani and Aaron Judge. And in the end, Game 1 ends on a dramatic walk-off Grand Slam homerun. The Dodgers were down to their final out. They were trailing 3-2. That's when Freddie Freeman hit the grand slam. The Dodgers win game one, 6-3, and Freddie Freeman is the hero.

For NPR News, I'm Steve Fetterman at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Game two is tonight, also in Los Angeles. I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington.