NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-04-2024 9PM EST

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

NPR News: 11-04-2024 9PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

OK, so does this sound like you? You love NPR's podcasts. You wish you could get more of all your favorite shows and you want to support NPR's mission to create a more informed public. If all that sounds appealing, then it is time to sign up for the NPR Plus bundle. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. In the final hours of her campaign, Vice President Harris is trying to turn out the vote among Puerto Rican voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania, and she's getting help from celebrities of Puerto Rican descent, like Fat Joe, who spoke at Harris' event in Allentown, and Puras Deepa Shivram has more.

Ever since a comedian at a rally for former President Trump called Puerto Rico garbage, the Harris campaign has been courting Puerto Ricans and trying to highlight Trump's record with the island. At a rally in Allentown, Harris said she was proud of her longstanding record on Puerto Rico. She also reminded voters in the crowd that the race isn't over yet and asked them to share with others why they decided to show up at the rally. We got a lot of work to do and we have got to finish strong. The

Harris campaign says 75% of eligible voters in Pennsylvania vote on election day, which is why Harris is spending her last day on the trail in the Commonwealth. Deepa Shivram NPR News Allentown, Pennsylvania. With just one day to go before voting endsa Shivaram, NPR News, Allentown, Pennsylvania. With just one day to go before voting ends across the country, NPR's Amanda Bastille reports in Arizona, one youth conservative group is urging its volunteers to power through the final hours before polls close tomorrow. For months, the group has been, quote, chasing ballots. Using thousands of volunteers from across the country, the group has been one of the central planks in the Republican effort to get voters to the polls.

So our mission has been not just get the low propensity voters out, but build a relationship with the lowest of the low. And that so far has seemingly been successful. That is Tyler Bauer, chief operating officer of Turning Point Action. His group has been using an app, voter registration, and ballot data to track who to talk to. On Tuesday, organizers hope to have Uber vouchers, party buses, and more to help turn out even more voters for former President Donald Trump. He-Man Abustio, NPR News, Phoenix.

A Tennessee man has been arrested and charged with trying to destroy an energy facility. Officials say the man was motivated by white supremacist ideology. More from NPR's Ryan Lucas. The Justice Department says 24 year old Skyler Philippi of Columbia, Tennessee was arrested by federal agents. He's been charged by criminal complaint with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility. Court papers say Philippi plotted to attack an electrical substation in

the Nashville area using a drone fitted with explosives. He drove with associates to the operation site to attack the substation, but unbeknownst to Philippi, his associates were undercover FBI employees and he was arrested. Philippi faces up to life in prison if convicted. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. Striking machinist and airplane builder Boeing are voting today on whether to approve a new contract. The latest proposal would include a 38% pay increase over four years, as well

as ratification and productivity bonuses. What apparently would not include, though, is a restoration of a traditional pension, which is something workers also wanted. On Wall Street, the Dow felt 257 points. This is NPR. Three Chinese astronauts have returned to Earth after a six-month stay aboard the country's Tinggong space station. A parachute slowed their capsule's descent today, bringing it to a safe landing in China's Inner Mongolia region. The crew emerged shortly after 1.24am local time. The space station is part of China's efforts to become a global leader in space exploration. New research finds that even toddlers can tell the difference between an

event that is unlikely and one that seems impossible. B. John Hamilton reports on a study in the journal PNAS. Researchers had more than 300 two- and three-year-olds put coins in a transparent gumball machine filled with toys. When they got a toy they had seen in the machine, they usually forgot its name. But Lisa Feigensen of Johns Hopkins University says their memories improved when the machine unexpectedly gave them a toy that was unlike any of the ones they could see inside. There was this really big learning boost for kids who had seen the impossible event.

Feigensen says the study shows that even very young kids will pay close attention to an unexpected event they can't explain. Once they understand how the event occurred, though, they tend to lose interest. John Hamilton, NPR News. Ford says safety regulators have ended their investigation into engine failures after the company either replaced engines or extended the warranties on some models. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had traced problems to intake valves it said could fracture inside some 2.7 and 3 liter turbocharged engines. Investigation looked at more than 400,000 vehicles from

the 2021 and 2022 model years, including the Bronco Edge and Explorer models. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.