NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-02-2024 11AM EDT

Episode Date: November 2, 2024

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I'm Rachel Martin, host of NPR's Wild Card Podcast. I'm the kind of person who wants to skip the small talk and get right to the things that matter. That's why I invite famous guests like Ted Danson, Jeff Goldblum, and Issa Rae to skip the surface stuff. We talk about what gives their lives meaning, the beliefs that shape their worldview, the moments of joy that keep them going. Follow Wild Card wherever you get your podcasts, only from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. It's a busy day of presidential campaigning in North Carolina today. Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are visiting the state in this final weekend before Election Day. NPR's Osma Khalid reports.

There are 16 electoral votes up for grabs in North Carolina, and it's traditionally been a key state for Republicans. To that point, Trump is holding two separate rallies there today. Meanwhile, Harris will hold a rally in Georgia, and then later tonight she'll hold a North Carolina rally of her own in Charlotte. She's been doing these concert-like events with celebrities to try to energize the crowd to get out and vote. With the exception of Barack Obama in 2008, North Carolina has gone to the Republican presidential candidate in every election for the last few decades. Asma Khalid, NPR News. In the swing state of Pennsylvania, new court rulings are weighing in on what should happen to the ballots of voters who don't follow all the state's rules for voting by mail. NPR's Hansi Luong has more.

Absentee voters in Pennsylvania are required to seal their completed ballots in inner yellow-colored secrecy envelopes and sign and write the current date on the outer return envelopes. Pennsylvania's Supreme Court has ruled that if your ballot gets rejected because you don't use a secrecy envelope, you can still cast a provisional ballot in person at the polls on election day. The Republican National Committee tried to get that ruling paused, but the US Supreme Court refused.

In a separate ruling, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court confirmed that not writing the current date on the outer envelope means your ballot should not be counted in this fall's election. Many legal experts, though, expect the courts to revisit whether not counting ballots missing handwritten current dates violates Pennsylvania's constitution. Hansi Lawong, NPR News.

An intelligence sharing organization says ransomware groups pose one of the largest threats to the food and agriculture industry. NPR's Jenna McLaughlin has more. The report summarizes intelligence about different threat actors targeting the sector over recent years. The largest segment, which represented 53% of attackers, were ransomware groups. One of the most prominent attacks on the food sector was in 2021 on JBS, one of the world's largest meat companies. The company says it paid 11 million to the hackers in ransom. But not all victims who pay recover their files. Law enforcement says it encourages future crime. Nation state attackers accounted for nearly

30 percent. That's notable as Russian hackers target Ukraine's vital agricultural operations during the war. Jen McLaughlin, NPR News. Iran's supreme leader today threatened Israel and the United States with what he called a crushing response to Israel's missile strike last month. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke in a video that was released by Iranian state media. He did not elaborate on the scope or the timing of the attack. You're listening to NPR News in Washington. The World Health Organization today resumed polio vaccinations of children in Gaza. Polio had not been seen in Gaza until a baby was partially paralyzed by the virus in August.

The vaccination campaign began soon after, but a second vaccination is needed. The second round was halted by Israeli air and ground assaults. It's now resumed, but officials say about 15,000 children are in areas too dangerous to reach. The Biden administration has announced more money to help native tribes access clean drinking water. As Alex Hager of Member Station KUNC reports, the $82 million investment will go to tribes in eight different states. Nearly half of all tribal homes in the U.S. do not have access to reliable clean drinking water. This money, which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act, is part of a federal effort

to change that. Twenty-three projects are getting money to plan, build, and maintain pipelines and water treatment plants. Federal officials say this money will help with a goal to dedicate 40 percent of federal climate spending to marginalized communities. The announcement comes as tribes in the southwest are asking for a bigger say in negotiations about the future of water use in the region. Indigenous people have largely been excluded from talks about sharing water for more than

a century. For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager in Fort Collins, Colorado. A federal jury in Louisville yesterday convicted a former police detective of violating the rights of Breanna Taylor. She was shot to death by police in her apartment in 2020. Brett Hankinson could be sentenced to life in prison. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.