NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-03-2024 10PM EST

Episode Date: November 4, 2024

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JANINE HERFST Support for this podcast and the following message come from the NPR Wine Club, which has generated over $1.75 million to support NPR programming. Whether buying a few bottles or joining the club, you can learn more at nprwineclub.org slash podcast. Must be 21 or older to purchase. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janineene Hurst. Election day is just two days away and the candidates are busy scraping for every last vote. And here's Mara Lyson reports on Vice President Harris and former President Trump's closing arguments.

Donald Trump has two closing arguments, one from his campaign ads that prices were lower when Trump was president and there were no wars. And then there's the argument from Trump himself. It's dark. America is a Trump himself. It's dark. America is a garbage can. It's violent. Quote, let's see how Liz Cheney feels when the guns are trained on her face. And it's gendered.

Quote, Harris is a weak and foolish woman who will get overwhelmed and melt down. Harris's closing strategy also has two parts. She's reaching out to undecided voters and disaffected Republicans, promising to search for common ground and listen to those who didn't vote for her. But she also says Trump is unstable, extreme, and is only interested in taking revenge on his opponents, not solving the problems of ordinary Americans. Mara Liason, NPR News. Republicans have filed several lawsuits to try to stop counties in Georgia from accepting hand-delivered absentee ballots this weekend. As NPR's Stephen Fowler reports, one state judge has already rejected those claims.

STEPHEN FOWLER, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, NPR, The Republican National Committee and the Georgia GOP say they're filing a federal lawsuit that asks the court to block any mail-in ballots from being returned by hand until election day. The suit makes several false claims about the voting process, including the allegation that accepting ballots in-person illegally extends the in-person early voting period. Saturday, a state judge rejected a similar lawsuit filed by the same attorney, ruling that Georgia state law is clear. Mail-in voting is different from in-person voting, and voters can hand-deliver absentee

ballots to election offices until polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta. It's a big week for the U.S. economy, and the election is only one part. The Fed is also expected to lower interest rates again. And Piers Maria Aspin has more. The economy is a top issue for U.S. voters who are picking a new president and possibly changing the balance of power in Congress. Vice President Kamala Harris is facing off against former President Donald Trump days

after a weak but complicated jobs report. The hiring data was skewed by a strike at Boeing and the impact of two hurricanes. But unemployment remains low, and overall the economy is strong. Inflation continues to ease, and paychecks are growing faster than prices. Voters aren't the only people closely reading these economic tea leaves. The Fed meets later this week and is widely expected to again reduce the cost of borrowing. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. Thirty-three thousand striking Boeing machinists vote tomorrow on the latest union contract offer from the troubled plane maker that could end the seven-week-old strike.

Workers voted down two previous contracts, but union leaders are backing this one. This is NPR News. In Nevada, conservationists and a Native American tribe are suing to block a lithium mine they say will drive an endangered wildflower to extinction, disrupt groundwater flows, and threaten cultural resources. The Center for Biological Diversity promised the suit when the Interior Department approved Ionear's lithium boron mine at the only place that the team's buckwheat is known to exist in the world. It's the latest in a series of legal fights over projects President Biden's administration

is pushing under his clean energy agenda that's intended to cut reliance on fossil fumes. Lithium is used to make electric vehicle batteries and solar panels. And researchers have found the oldest tadpole fossil to date. And Piers Jessica Young has more. 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 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 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. And I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Dignity Memorial. When your

celebration of life is prepaid today, your family is protected tomorrow. Planning ahead is truly one of the best gifts you can give your family. For additional information, visit DignityMemorial.ca.