NPR News Now - NPR News: 10-31-2024 8PM EDT

Episode Date: November 1, 2024

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We finally made it, election week. It's what this whole never-ending election cycle has been building up to. And what happens now will dictate the future of the country. Keep up with election news when it matters most with NPR's Consider This podcast. All this week we are taking major stories from the election to help you make sense of them and what they mean for you in under 15 minutes. Listen now to the Consider This podcast from NPR. 15 minutes. Listen now to the Consider This podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. At a rally in Phoenix, Vice President Kamala Harris made a direct appeal to independent and Republican voters. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, she also talked about abortion rights.

Harris criticized former President Trump for remarks saying he would protect women whether they like it or not, linking that to his views on reproductive freedom. He simply does not respect the freedom of women or the intelligence of women to know what's in their own best interests and make decisions accordingly. But we trust women. We trust women. She also urged Arizonans to vote yes on Proposition 139, a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state. Tamara Keith, NPR News, traveling with the Vice President. Harris holds rallies in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada tonight. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is on a bit of a

southwestern swing ahead of the election as well. Trump, at least for the moment, turning his attention away from the key swing states. At a rally in Henderson, Nevada, Trump asked his audience if they are better off than they were four years ago and attacked his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. We're going to bring back the American dream, and I want to just thank you. You're going to bring it back. And that's all you really need to know. Remember, Kamala and Sleepy Joe, they broke it. I will fix it and we'll fix it fast. Trump later tonight joins Tucker Carlson for a hurricane relief benefit in Glendale, Arizona.

He'll be in Virginia over the weekend. A group that could have outsized impact on this year's presidential race is senior voters. Those over the age of 50 have high turnout rates and traditionally lean Republican. But this year, polling by the AARP shows them to be evenly divided. NPR's Don Ghani reports the stories in the gender gap. Women overwhelmingly back Vice President Harris. Men, former President Donald Trump. Both groups cite the economy as the top concern.

Mark Cicchetti, who is 65 years old, was at a Trump rally in Erie, Pennsylvania. Everything you save for is going to just get eaten up by inflation. I feel it right now because I'm not making an income and my savings is just dwindling. Senior women also see protecting reproductive freedom as vital. Gail Siegel of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania backs Harris. I mean I marched for all the women's rights ERA with my children and it looks like here I am in this year, 2024, doing that again. Another thing older voters tell pollsters, they feel invisible to the campaigns. Don Gagne, NPR News.

Better than expected earnings numbers. Some software giant Microsoft failed to excite the financial markets. The company reporting quarterly sales grew 16 percent to $65.6 billion. Or even with those better than expected numbers, the company's stock fell more than 5 percent today. Big drops in the tech sector contributed to declines on Wall Street. The Nasdaq was down more than 500 points. This is NPR. The Biden administration says it continues to keep an eye on activities by an estimated

8,000 North Korean soldiers who are now in Russia near the border with Ukraine. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says only that some of those troops have been moved toward Ukraine's border in the Kyrgyz region. Russian forces have struggled to push back a Ukrainian incursion there. It's thought the North Korean troops would be preparing to help the Kremlin in its battle. Scientists who study stem cells are exploring potential benefits of doing that type of research in space. One such experiment focuses on growing liver tissue. It is expected to launch early next year. Morph from NPR's Will Stone. The goal is to grow bigger and more complex organoids.

These are not actual organs. They're tiny 3D clusters of cells that mimic the function of an organ and are used to model diseases and test drugs and scientists hope one day for transplants. Tammy Chang, a surgeon at UCSF says they're aiming to send their stem cell filled bioreactors to the International Space Station in February.

To test our hypothesis that microgravity is doing something unique that cannot be achieved on Earth. Cheng says there's evidence from experiments using simulated microgravity that liver organoids function better when grown in those conditions. Will Stone, NPR News. The Pentagon is accusing Boeing of overcharging for spare parts for a major cargo plane, including marking up the price of a simple lavatory soap dispenser by as much as 8,000 percent. The Defense Department's inspector general accuses the airplane builder of overcharging

by nearly a million dollars for 12 items used on C-7 cargo planes. Boeing for its parts says it's required to meet tougher standards for military planes. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.