NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-04-2024 2PM EST

Episode Date: November 4, 2024

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Danielle Kinn-Piasecki I'm Danielle Kurtzleben. I cover the presidential campaign for NPR. So I go to rallies, a lot of them. I want to hear what the candidates say, talk to voters, and find out what ideas are resonating. And I put it all in my reporting to help you make sense of this election. It's why being there is important. To help support this work, sign up for NPR+. Go to plus dot NPR dot org. Laxmelea Sing Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Laxmelea Sing. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are making their last big push on the last day of the campaign before Election Day. Harris is making all of her stops in Pennsylvania today, including one in Scranton

this hour. N Piers Franco, Ordonez reports Trump stopped first in North Carolina and is heading next to Redding, part of Pennsylvania's Latino corridor. Piers Franco, Ordonez, P.S. Redding is home to many Puerto Rican residents who were not happy with the quote, floating island of garbage remarks from one of Trump's opening speakers at his rally in New York last weekend. Harris will also speak in Reading today. Trump will then stop in Pittsburgh before heading to the Midwest,

where he'll wrap up his night late in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It's actually the third time in a row that Trump will finish up his campaign here in Grand Rapids. In 2020, he mentioned maybe being a little superstitious. He's scheduled to speak at 10.30 tonight, but last time it was after midnight before he started. Franco Ordonez, NPR News, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Congressional candidates are making their final pitches

to voters, as both parties hope to govern with a legislative majority. NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports there are about three dozen competitive House districts this cycle. Republicans are heavily contesting about 35 seats with big defensive races in California, New York, Iowa, Nebraska, and Arizona. Here's Dan Constant, president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, which is the top House GOP

super PAC. I think the race for Congress is effectively tied. This is on a knife's edge. This will come down to a couple of districts in the end. For their part, Democrats have roughly 30 candidates running for reelection in competitive seats and are hoping to pick up roughly the same number of seats on offense. Barbara Sprint and PR News, Washington. In this presidential election, the stakes are high for governments around the world.

NPR's Joanna Kikissis is in Kyiv where she reports President Volodymyr Zelensky and many other Ukrainians likely see a Harris win as a continuation of ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine's war effort against Russia. Winning is the only option for him. He has said he will not consider giving up any land in exchange for a peace deal. That's actually something Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance has suggested in order to end the war. Zelensky told reporters Ukraine will try to cope if the U.S. turns its back on his country. NPR's Veronica Kisus reporting. More than a month after Israel launched its ground offensive against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry reports a conflict has claimed more than 3,000

lives. In Israel, 72 people, including dozens of soldiers, have been killed in Hezbollah attacks. The Dow is down 217 points. You're listening to NPR News. Also making headlines around the globe in Spain, the Transport Minister has announced a suspension of all commuter trains in northeast Catalonia, a region of 8 million people because of extreme amounts of rain. Meanwhile, emergency teams are still searching for people missing since last week's floods

in Valencia and elsewhere. More than 200 people died. Indonesia's Mount Lewatobi Laki-Laki erupted around midnight local time. A local official says volcanic material shot up as high as 6,500 feet into the air. The hot ash hit several villages and burned homes, including a convent of Catholic nuns. The country's National Disaster Management Agency says at least 10 people have died. In the U.S., the share of first-time home buyers hit a record low. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports on a new snapshot of just how tough the housing market has been over the past year.

Jennifer Ludden The share of first-time buyers is down sharply from a year ago to just 24 percent, and they're older than ever, with a median age of 38. That's according to the National Association of Realtors, which has tracked buyers for more than four decades. Many people have been shut out of the housing market in recent years, as prices skyrocketed and mortgage rates shot up. For first-timers who did manage to buy, their median income was way up to nearly $100,000. The Realtors Association also finds a record share of people bought multi-generational homes.

The biggest reason they gave was for cost savings. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington. The Nasdaq is up 8 points. S&P is off 3. The Dow is down 217. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.