NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-02-2024 2PM EDT

Episode Date: November 2, 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. Live from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. In this final weekend before Election Day, both major presidential candidates are campaigning in the swing state of North Carolina

today, seeking its 16 electoral votes. Republican Donald Trump is holding two rallies in the state, one tonight in Greensboro and this one this afternoon in Gastonia, where he predicted a heavy turnout. I think they'll end up having many, many more people than they thought. This is going to be great, but we have to get out and vote. And we will because I am thrilled to be back in this beautiful state. What a great state. You know, I have a little granddaughter named Carolina. You know that, right?

Trump said if he wins North Carolina, he'll win it all. Democrat Kamala Harris will also visit North Carolina today. She's holding a Get Out the Vote rally in Charlotte tonight. In these final days of campaigning, the vice president is offering some new details about what she would do on day one if elected president. NPR's Osma Collard reports. Harris has said her top legislative priority is a package of bills to lower costs on everything from child care to housing. Here she is in response to a question I asked her today. Day one is also me getting on the phone with members of the Republican Party, with leaders, with

the private sector. A lot of my plan includes working with the private sector. Yesterday at a local union hall in Wisconsin, Harris also promised to sign an executive order on her first day to eliminate college degree requirements for some federal jobs. Asma Khalid, NPR News. The state of Texas says it will not allow federal election monitors at polling places next week. Texas Public Radio's Jerry Clayton has more. Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson has informed the Justice Department that federal inspectors will not be allowed where ballots are counted or inside any polling places. She says Texas has its own procedures in place to ensure eligible voters participate in free

and fair elections and will send state monitors to various locations instead. The Justice Department announced they were planning to send monitors to eight counties in Texas, along with counties in 26 other states, a practice the agency has regularly done during major elections to monitor for potential voting violations. The department is now required to ask permission or get a court order to be present at voting sites after the Supreme Court gutted portions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I'm Jerry Clayton in San Antonio.

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 that, but a second vaccination is needed. The second round was halted by Israeli air and ground assaults. This is NPR News in Washington. In London today, a former software engineer of Nigerian descent became the first black person to lead a major British political party. NPR's Lauren Frere reports from London. After their worst ever election defeat this past summer, members of Britain's Conservative Party have elected Kemi Badenok as their new leader. It is the most enormous honor to be elected to this role, to lead the party

that I love. The party that has given me so much, I hope that I will be able to repay that debt. In her acceptance speech Badenok promised to renew the party of Churchill and Thatcher. She replaces Rishi Sunak who lost the July election and resigned afterward as party leader. Badenok is a low-tax, free-market conservative who's stirred controversy with recent comments, calling paid maternity leave excessive even though she herself is a mother of three, and saying immigrants from certain cultures are more welcome than others, even though she grew up in Nigeria and the U.S.

Lauren Freyer, PR News London. Spain is deploying another 10,000 Army troops and police to Valencia to help with rescue and recovery after flash floods this week. Bethany Bell of the BBC reports they face a challenging task. It's very difficult conditions for rescue teams. There are some areas which people are only just beginning to reach, some areas that were only accessible by helicopter. And then there are many, many volunteers out.

They say that they are keen to do everything they can to help with the rescue effort. Officials say at least 211 people are confirmed dead. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.