NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-28-2024 4PM EDT

Episode Date: October 28, 2024

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From poll numbers to talking points to all the drama, we get it. Election season can be a lot. That's why here at NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, we're in the business of providing a little release from the squeeze of the political season. Try out any of our shows on the latest in TV, movies, and music to keep you grounded and bring you back to Earth. New episodes every week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, only from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The presidential candidates are crisscrossing swing states about a week before the election. Vice President Kamala Harris is ramping up her messaging to voters in Michigan today. She visited a semiconductor facility in Saginaw that received more than $300 million from the Bipartisan Chips Act signed last year by President Biden.

We have to constantly be on top of what is happening, what is current, and investing in the industries of the future, as well as honoring the traditions and the industries that have built up America's economy. Former President Donald Trump is campaigning in Georgia today. He's taking part in a faith forum and will later hold a campaign event in Atlanta. Concern over election-related political violence remains high. But the nature of the threat has changed from what it was before the 2020 election, when organized extremist groups were much more active.

NPR's Odette Youssef reports. Data show that extremist groups have mobilized far less in 2024 than they did in 2020. Data from ACLED, the Armed Conflict Location and Events Data Project, show the activity has fallen by half. But ACLED's Kieran Doyle says the potential for political violence is still high. Violence by individuals has been a huge concern this year obviously with the two assassination attempts against Trump.

The Department of Homeland Security has similarly warned about individuals and small cells. A recent intelligence memo from DHS also noted that domestic extremists may be using encrypted and private group communication platforms, making the planning for acts of violence harder to detect. Odette Youssef, NPR News. Health officials in Gaza say the death toll from Israel's war on Hamas has surpassed 43,000. NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi reports the Israeli military continues to intensify its ground invasion in the northern part of the Strip.

The World Health Organization called the humanitarian crisis in North Gaza, quote, catastrophic as Israeli strikes caused the last three functioning hospitals in the area to be largely inaccessible. The United Nations has predicted that an estimated 60,000 children under five will become acutely malnourished over the coming year. The UN also said that it was increasingly concerned with the manner in which the Israeli military is conducting its assault in north Gaza, which it said includes unlawful interference with humanitarian aid. The Israeli military says it continues to battle Hamas militants which are regrouping

all across Gaza and denies it hinders access to aid. Hadil Alshalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Earlier today, Israel passed legislation that could paralyze efforts by the main UN agency delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza. This is NPR News in Washington. McDonald's 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 FDA continues to investigate the source and believes it's linked to fresh onions from a supplier in California. The outbreak has left one person dead and sick in 75 in more than a dozen states. More than a third of the world's tree species are at risk of extinction, according to a new assessment. NPR's Nathan Rott reports that's bad for a lot of reasons. Trees provide the planet with breathable air. They help store planet warming carbon. They provide habitat for countless other plant,

animal and fungi species. They provide shade. But according to new findings from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Red List, the world's leading scientific authority on threatened species, 38% of the world's tree species are now threatened with extinction.

Agriculture, logging, and urbanization are the biggest drivers of tree decline. Climate change is up there too. The findings were announced at the ongoing United Nations Convention on Biodiversity where world leaders are striving to correct course. But progress has been slow. Nathan Rott, NPR News. A London-based cheese manufacturer has reported nearly $400,000 in high-quality cheddar cheese stolen.

The company says it delivered nearly 1,000 wheels of the cheddar to an alleged fraudster posing as a wholesale distributor. This is NPR.