NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-31-2024 7AM EDT

Episode Date: October 31, 2024

NPR News: 10-31-2024 7AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. Election day is next Tuesday. Voters are returning ballots by mail or going to early election polling sites across the country.

Election officials are warning there is a lot of election misinformation circulating, especially online. Federal officials responsible for cybersecurity say they're working to assist local officials who are responsible for conducting elections in each state and territory. NPR's Shannon Bond says they have identified certain bad actors. Shannon Bond Federal officials are really focused here on foreign actors who spread election lies. There's just not the same kind of effort to call out and warn Americans about, you know, falsehoods that might come from domestic

sources. Of course, that can get into really fraught territory for the government because of the First Amendment. And it's also become a big line of attack for Republicans. And so that means a lot of this pushback and debunking is falling to local officials. NPR's Shannon Bond reporting. Election misinformation is not limited to foreign bad actors. A digital ad campaign backed by billionaire Elon Musk is pushing messages that are intended to look like they're from Vice President Kamala Harris. As NPR's Bobbi Allen reports, the ads make false claims about Harris.

A series of political ads appearing on Facebook falsely say Kamala Harris wants to institute a mandatory gun buyback program and make it easier for undocumented immigrants to receive a driver's license. They are from a group called Building America's Future, a pro-Trump outfit funded by Elon Musk. But they look like they're from the Harris campaign. Musk has spent more than $100 million bankrolling a Trump campaign field operation. He appears at Trump rallies and he's expected to have a role in the White House if Trump is elected. The billionaire has also turned his social media platform X into a powerful pro-Trump machine where he has been amplifying misleading information about the integrity of the U.S.

voting system. The Washington Post recently called Musk a human October surprise. Bobbi Allen, NPR News. The New York City Police Department will no longer ticket pedestrians who cross the street outside of crosswalks or jaywalk. And Piers Alana Wise reports critics say the law had unfairly targeted people of color. Jaywalking is about as quintessentially New York as a classic bagel. And now New York residents can take their chances crossing anywhere on the street without facing a steep $250 fine. Critics of jaywalking penalties point out that

enforcement has been unbalanced. Gotham has looked at the data. In the first half of this year, nearly 80% of jaywalking summons went to Black and Brown people. This is in the shadow of long-running disputes between the NYPD and communities who say their safety has been compromised by overzealous officers. Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse says this law has been a long time coming and that police have told her they would rather spend their time actually making the city safer. Alana Wise, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

U.S. officials say North Korea has test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile today. It's the first such test by North Korea since last December. The Los Angeles Dodgers have won the World Series beating the New York Yankees last night in New York 7 to 6. LA clinched the series four games to one taking their eighth World Series title but it's the first time for Dodgers star player Shohei Otani who is from Japan. And Piers Rebecca Rossman has been following celebrations in Tokyo. The screams at the Hub Pub in northern Tokyo could be heard outside the door, with fans showing a special excitement for their national hero Shohei Otani as he celebrated his first World Series win since joining Major League Baseball in 2018. McNeil Ledezma is a Californian here on vacation.

Finally, Ohtani has a championship so I feel like this is a really big deal and it's a blessing to be out here to celebrate with all the people from Japan. The excitement here follows more than three hours of tense, heart stopping concentration on what was a tight game. The Yankees led five to nothing in the third inning, but the Dodgers turned it around by the fifth, clinching the title after winning Game five, seven to six. Rebecca Rossman, NPR News, Tokyo. Millions of people in India and around the world are celebrating Diwali today, the Hindu Festival of Lights.

People in northern India are marking the day by lighting about two and a half million clay oil lamps on the banks of the river, Saryo. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.