NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-02-2024 5PM EDT

Episode Date: November 2, 2024

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Every weekday, NPR's best political reporters come to you on the NPR Politics Podcast to explain the big news coming out of Washington, the campaign trail and beyond. We don't just want to tell you what happened, we tell you why it matters. Join the NPR Politics Podcast every single afternoon to understand the world through political eyes. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. With less than three days to go before Election Day, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are barnstorming key southern states in a razor-thin race for the

White House. We begin with NPR's Asma Khalid covering the Harris campaign in Atlanta, Georgia. At a rally in Atlanta, Harris rolled through her plans to lower costs and tried to crystallize the contrast with her opponent as she made a final pitch. So, Georgia, I am here to ask for your vote. I am here to ask for your vote. And here is my pledge to you.

As president, I pledge to seek common ground and common sense solutions to the challenges you face. Harris is also rallying voters in Charlotte, and Trump is in North Carolina as well today, holding two separate rallies in the state. Asma Khalid, NPR News. Former President Trump's campaign schedule includes North Carolina stops every day through Monday. This afternoon outside of Charlotte, Trump pitched his candidacy to suburban women. This as women have put in a strong showing among early voters.

NPR's Sarah McKammon has the latest. Trump spent several minutes making a pitch to suburban women who tend to be swing voters. I will protect our women. I'm going to protect our women. I got into so much trouble. You saw that. I said we will protect because I keep hearing, I think the women love me. I do. Trump later referred to Vice President Harris as a, quote, weak and foolish woman. Harris and her allies have been working to win over suburban women who previously voted for Trump. Sarah McKimmon, NPR News, Gastonia, North Carolina.

Trump's campaign schedule today also includes a stop in Salem, Virginia. In the Middle East, Iran's supreme leader is threatening a, quote, crushing response to Israel's attacks last weekend that took out some of the country's air defense systems. NPR's Arzu Rezvani reports from Beirut. In a video released by Iranian state media, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei directed his threat to Israel and the United States. He did not elaborate on when Iran would strike back or how the U.S. would be included, but the U.S. military does operate several bases throughout the Middle East that have come under attack before by Iran-backed militias in the region.

Khamenei's comments echo what other Iranian officials have said in recent days. The deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ali Fadavi, said in an interview earlier this week that a response is definite, adding that Iran could destroy all that Israel possesses in, quote, one operation. Israel's October 26th attack took out several of Iran's air defense systems, as well as storage and production sites of ballistic missiles and drones. Arzoo Rizvani, NPR News, Beirut. This is NPR News in Washington. More than 200 people have died, and it's not clear how many people are missing. After devastating rain left a path of destruction in Spain's eastern

province of Valencia. Day after satellite images released by NASA Earth Observatory show parts of the province submerged in floodwaters and a river channel and coastal wetlands clogged with sediment. This was one of the deadliest weather events in modern Spanish history. Researchers have found the oldest tadpole fossil to date, and PR's Jessica Young reports on how this fossil shines new light on the evolutionary history of frogs. Researchers have discovered a tadpole fossil that is 161 million years old, which is 20 million years earlier than scientists previously knew of. The tadpole stage that is 161 million years old, which is 20 million years earlier than scientists

previously knew of. The tadpole stage lasts only a few months, and the tadpole body is delicate. And yet, this fossil is in great shape. Seeing it for the first time amazed researcher Mariana Chuliver. I said, okay, this is the best tadpole ever, because up to to now there wasn't any other fossil tadpole with the gill skeleton preserved. She says this discovery suggests that metamorphosis in frogs is probably a successful survival strategy which may be why it has lasted for so many millions of years.

The paper is published in the journal Nature. Jessica Young, NPR News. New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued a drought watch today urging conservation. After much of the nation experienced an unusually dry October, the city uses an average of 1.1 billion gallons of water a day. I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News.