NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-28-2024 12PM EDT

Episode Date: October 28, 2024

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Hey there, it's Tamara Keith. I cover the White House. I know this is hard to believe, but one day the election will be over. Then the winner gets a lot more powerful. It's my job to report on what they do with that power. That's public accountability, but it's not possible without public support. So please support our work. Sign up for NPR+. Go to plus.npr.org. NPR Plus. Go to plus.npr.org. Winzer Johnston. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Winzer Johnston. The presidential candidates are entering their final week of campaigning before the election. Vice President Kamala Harris is returning to the swing state of Michigan today. She was in Pennsylvania yesterday rallying supporters in Philadelphia. Former President Donald Trump will make another pitch to voters later today in Georgia.

NPR's Danielle Kurtz-Sloven reports the Trump campaign is facing criticism after a series of controversial comments during a rally in New York City's Madison Square Garden last night. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe started the rally with remarks that included a joke referring to Puerto Rico as a, quote, floating island of garbage. Another speaker seemed to imply that Vice President Harris is a prostitute. All told, more than four hours of speakers preceded Trump. During his speech, Trump doubled down on recent comments calling some Democrats the enemy from within and suggesting he'd use the military against them.

And when I say the enemy from within, the other side goes crazy, becomes this albaho. How can he say? No, they've done very bad things to this country. They are indeed the enemy from within. Trump is rallying supporters across swing states this week. Danielle Kurtzleben in PR News, New York. Several Puerto Rican artists are working to give the Harris campaign a boost following controversial remarks about the U.S. territory.

And PR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento has more. Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, and Luis Fonsi are all sharing a video of Vice President Harris discussing her commitment to Puerto Rico and its people. There is so much at stake in this election for Puerto Rican voters and for Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans on the island cannot vote in the presidential election, but those living on the mainland can, and they represent a significant voting bloc in states like Pennsylvania,

a crucial swing state. Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento, NPR News. Vice President Harris announced a new initiative to help support Puerto Rico's economy at a stop in Pennsylvania on Sunday before Trump's rally in New York City last night. NATO has confirmed North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to help in its invasion of Ukraine. Terry Schultz reports this new level of collaboration is causing a lot of concern among world leaders. It's something we've been hearing from the

Ukrainian and South Korean governments for some time but then the US and NATO would just say they didn't have evidence of it. And then last week Defense Secretary Austin did confirm the US believes at least 3,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia, and he called it a very serious escalation. A couple of other European governments have now said their own intelligence reflects this. That's Terri Schultz reporting from Brussels. Stocks are trading higher on Wall Street at this hour, the Dow up 237 points. This is NPR News. McDonald says it will resume selling quarter-pounders this week. The fast food chain says an investigation

has ruled out beef patties as the source of a recent outbreak of E. coli. The outbreak has left one person dead and sickened 75 in more than a dozen states. Conclave, a movie about the Vatican, did surprisingly well at the box office in its opening weekend, and PR's Bob Mandello has the details. It's not racy or scary, like the Venom and Smile sequels that topped the box office list this weekend,

but Conclave is definitely aimed at adults, both in subject matter, Cardinals voting for a new pope, and in a pro. This is a conclave, it's not a war. It is a war, and you have to commit to a side. Seniors have been slow to commit to cinemas since the start of the pandemic, but almost half of conclave's audience is 55 or older. That's a rarity in a movie that cracks the top 10. And with 6.5 million dollars in the till, Conclave, at number three, is in only about half as many theaters as the films that beat it. With the Dodgers-Yankees World Series siphoning audiences away, Hollywood's weekend as a

whole was lackluster in North America, though results overseas were stronger. Bob Mandelo, NPR News. A London-based cheese manufacturer has reported nearly 50,000 pounds of award-winning cheddar cheese stolen. The company says it delivered nearly 1,000 wheels of the cheddar to an alleged fraudster posing as a wholesale distributor. The high-quality cheese is worth nearly $400,000. This is NPR News.