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Episode Date: October 29, 2024

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With more electoral college votes than any other swing state, Pennsylvania is largely seen as the make or break battleground. Getting those last couple yards in the red zone in Pennsylvania is really, really tough. The presidential candidates have their eyes on it, and so do we. All this week on the Consider This Podcast from NPR. Come along. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. In the final full week of the 2024 presidential race, Democrat Kamala Harris is in Michigan, speaking at a semiconductor plant in Saginaw County. Harris said her administration would both reassess federal jobs requiring

a college degree and make the U.S. even more preeminent in terms of technological innovation. What you are doing here on the ground makes real that investing in American industries and investing in American workers can happen at the same time. There doesn't have to be a tension between the two. That doing this work will also be about understanding, look we gotta win the competition for the 21st century. We're not gonna have China beat to win the competition for the 21st century. We're not going to have China beat us in the competition for the 21st century.

The plant Hemlock Semiconductor recently received a $325 million federal grant for a new factory. Democrat Tim Walz is in Wisconsin today. Former President Trump is campaigning in Atlanta fresh off the latest controversy surrounding his campaign. At a rally last night at Madison Square Garden, a comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage, sending shockwaves to that community. For his part, Trump used the opportunity to propose a tax credit for family members who take care of a parent or loved one. The state of Virginia is asking the Supreme Court to pause the ruling that orders the

state to restore some 1,600 registered voters that were purged from their voter rolls. More from MPR's Hansi LeWong. This emergency request comes after a federal appeals panel called Virginia's arguments weak and, quote, not how courts interpret statutes. A judge ruled its voter removal program illegally purged registered voters from the state's rolls during the 90-day quiet period before a federal election when such programs are banned. In August, executive order by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin resulted in daily updates to voter rolls in order to remove people who are not

able to verify they are US citizens to Virginia's Department of Motor Vehicles. But the state could not show in court that any non-citizens were removed. Instead, US citizens had their voter registration canceled. In Virginia, in-person registration for this election continues through Election Day. Hansi Lawong, NPR News. The U.S. says countries need bolder plans to avoid catastrophic impacts from climate change. More from NPR's Michael Kompley. Countries agreed to limit global warming to try to prevent more destructive storms, heatwaves, and other extreme weather.

Hitting the target requires big cuts in emissions from burning fossil fuels. But according to a new UN report, plans countries have put forward so far won't do nearly enough. To meet the global target, countries need to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 43% this decade compared to where they were in 2019.

Under current plans, the UN says emissions this decade are expected to fall by less than 3%. The UN warns such a shortfall would lead to global warming that would be disastrous for people and economies around the world. A new round of UN climate talks starts in November. Michael Copley, NPR News. The Dow is up 273 points. This is NPR. A Pentagon spokesperson says North Korea has sent about 10,000 of its troops to Russia, apparently to train and fight in Ukraine in the next several weeks. Officials say some of those soldiers have already moved closer to the front lines amid mounting concerns

they'd be used to support combat operations against Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region. More than a thousand authors, editors and illustrators have signed an open letter boycotting Israeli institutions that have not spoken in favor of Palestinian rights. MPR's Andrew Limbong has more. The open letter is a response not just to Israel's current role in the war in Gaza following the October 7th attacks, but to the quote 75 years of displacement, ethnic cleansing and apartheid. The letter goes on to say that authors, editors and other people working in publishing have a role to play and therefore quote, we will not work with Israeli cultural institutions that are complicit or have remained silent observers of the overwhelming oppression of

Palestinians. NPR has reached out to the letter organizers asking which Israeli organizations have already been blacklisted. Other names on the list include Nobel Prize winner Anir Noh, Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen, and the poet Ruby Carr. Andrew Limbong, NPR News. Did the world's richest man at one point work illegally in the U.S.? President Joe Biden says yes.

Tesla SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says that's not the case. During a campaign stop in Pittsburgh over the weekend, Biden sang, quote, the wealthiest man in the world turned out to be an illegal worker here. The Washington Post reported the South African-born Musk worked illegal in the U.S. while on a student visa. On his social media platform, X, Musk says he was allowed to work in the U.S. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.