NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-28-2024 10PM EDT

Episode Date: October 29, 2024

NPR News: 10-28-2024 10PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Wait, wait, don't tell me. Fresh Air, Up First, NPR News Now, Planet Money, Ted Radio Hour, Thru Line, the NPR Politics Podcast, Code Switch, Embedded, Books We Love, Wildcard, are just some of the podcasts you can enjoy sponsor free with NPR+. Get all sorts of perks across more than 20 podcasts with the bundle option. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Our retired Louisiana state trooper reached a plea deal in connection with the deadly arrest of black motorist Ronald Green. Aidan McCahill of Member Station WRFK reports former officer Corey York pleaded no contest. York originally faced the most serious charges of the officers involved in the 2019 death

of Ronald Green, including felony charges of negligent homicide and malfeasance. Body camera footage sparked public outrage, showing officers tasing, punching, and choking Green as he pleaded for mercy during a high-speed chase arrest. York could be seen dragging Green and forcibly restraining him face down for several minutes, actions some experts say likely restricted Green's breathing. Autopsies were ultimately inconclusive about the cause of death. In the plea deal, York agreed to testify against the last remaining officer awaiting trial and will serve a one-year probation. He will also retain his pension of $83,000 a year.

For NPR News, I'm Id McKayhill in Baton Rouge. Fast food chain McDonald's says it's ruled out its ground beef as the source of an E. coli outbreak that led to one death in Colorado and sickened dozens more in 13 states. The company made a statement over the weekend saying as a result it will resume selling quarter-pounder burgers at hundreds of its locations starting this week. McDonald says the US Food and Drug Administration continues to focus on slivered onions from a single supplier as the most likely source of contamination. Struggling airplane maker Boeing has launched a stock offering aimed at raising up to $19

billion. NPR's Joel Rose reports Boeing is looking to shore up its balance sheet in an ongoing strike. Boeing says it will raise billions of dollars by selling stock and other securities. The company needs the infusion of capital to preserve its investment-grade credit rating. Boeing is bleeding cash as it deals with production problems and a strike by its machinist union that's now in its seventh week. The work stoppage hobbled production at Boeing's airplane factories in the Pacific Northwest,

contributing to a $6 billion quarterly loss for the company. The machinist union, which represents 33,000 members, says it's been in contact with the U.S. Department of Labor in an effort to get back to the bargaining table with Boeing. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. Residents say a speaker calling Puerto Rico garbage before a packed Donald Trump rally in New York was just the latest humiliation for an island territory that has long suffered from mistreatment. The expressions of fury could affect the presidential election.

A new poll finds American voters are approaching the presidential election with deep unease. The election, they are concerned mostly about political violence, attempts to overturn results and the implications for democracy. The survey from the Associated Press-Nork Center for Public Affairs Research speaks to consistent, persistent concerns about the fragility of the world's oldest democracy. On Wall Street today, stocks closed mostly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained ground. The NASDAQ was also up.

The S&P 500 also closed higher today. Oil prices also gained ground. You're listening to NPR News in Washington. Hospitals are not able to get their usual supply of IV fluids in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The shortage means patients around the country are experiencing canceled and postponed surgeries. NPR's Cindy Lumpkin is that story. When Hurricane Helene flooded parts of North Carolina, it shut down a Baxter International

factory making 60% of the IV fluids used in hospitals around the country. Hospitals have had to adjust by conserving IV fluids for the neediest patients. That has also meant canceling scheduled surgeries and procedures. Here's Nancy Foster of the American Hospital Association. The stress of getting ready to have your surgery, being prepared to have that important surgery, and then having that delayed for a while is also something we hope to avoid with patients, but it may be made necessary by this current IV solution shortage. The situation is improving, but the key factory isn't expected to be back in full production until at least next year.

Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. Uncrustables, those round white bread, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are now a billion dollar business. That's according to parent company Jam Smucker, which says the sandwiches are so popular, company plans to open a third US plant to produce them next year. Uncrustables, which have a hungry and devoted following among NFL football players, almost failed to take off, Smucker says, after the company bought the brand it lost money for more than a decade as it sought to figure out how to mass produce

the pillowy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Critical futures prices took a tumble today, falling more than 6 percent, oiled down $4.40 a barrel to settle at $67.38 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.