NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-05-2024 1AM EST

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

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Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. Vice President Kamala Harris crisscrossed Pennsylvania on Monday as she wound down her campaign. Harris dumped in Scranton and in Allentown, where she rang a few doorbells. Earlier in the day, she told a Pittsburgh rally that Tuesday's election can bring about

change. We have an opportunity in this election to finally turn the page on a decade of politics driven by fear and division. We are done with that. We're done. We're done. We're exhausted with it. And Pittsburgh, we are not going back. We're not going back. Harris ended her campaign with a star-studded rally in Philadelphia. Former President Donald Trump wound down the final day of his campaign with multiple stops in key swing states. As NPR's Sarah McCammon reports, Trump highlighted Pennsylvania's importance in Tuesday's election during a rally in Pittsburgh.

President Biden won Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes in 2020 after Trump narrowly won the state in 2016. Trump campaigned in Pittsburgh with a backdrop of steel workers and hard hats sitting behind him. He said it was, quote, sad that the rallies were coming to a close. We have done these rallies, and they were only done for one purpose,

to put us in a position that we can be put in tomorrow to fix our country because the rallies otherwise, it's just nice entertainment. Trump thanked several family members who joined him, including sons Eric and Don Jr. and daughter Tiffany. He also touted a new endorsement from podcaster Joe Rogan. Sarah McKammon, NPR News. Republicans are largely favored to win control of the U.S. Senate as the 2024 map shows Democrats defending more seats in competitive states. We get more from NPR's Deidre Walsh.

Democrats in the independents who caucus with them hold a 51-49 Senate majority now, but they appear likely to lose the seat of retiring West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin. And Montana Democrat John Tester is competing in a solidly red state and needs voters to ticket split to win another term. Democrats are also defending Senate seats in the swing states of Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Republicans predict they will fend off challenges in Texas and Florida, while Democrats feel they have a good chance of keeping the seat of retiring Arizona Senator Kirsten Sinema. The race to keep Ohio in the blue column is a dead heat. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News, Washington.

The first votes of the 2024 general election are now in, and Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are tied in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. The township's six residents cast their votes just after midnight in keeping with the decades-old tradition. You're listening to NPR News. A Pennsylvania judge says that billionaire Elon Musk can keep giving money to voters who sign a pledge to support the Constitution.

Musk is giving away a million dollars a day to registered voters in swing states. Philadelphia's district attorney filed suit alleging that the giveaway is an illegal lottery and a scam. Judge Angelo Folietta disagreed. The Kroger grocery chain has agreed to pay nearly $1.4 billion to settle the wave of lawsuits linked to prescription opioid sales. Despite the payment, Kroger executives say they did nothing wrong. NPR's Brian Mann has the story. Kroger is the latest big U.S. corporation to reach a settlement with state attorneys

general, Native American tribes, and other governments that sued the company for dispensing highly addictive pain medications. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from opioid overdoses. In all, companies accused of helping fuel the national opioid crisis by aggressively marketing and distributing painkillers have agreed to pay out more than $60 billion. In a statement, Kroger said this settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability. The roughly $1.4 billion payout will help fund drug addiction and treatment programs nationwide.

Brian Mann, NPR News. The State Department says Israel is not doing enough to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza. Spokesman Matthew Miller says Israel has done too little to improve aid deliveries to civilians in the Palestinian territory. The U.S. had given Israel 30 days to meet certain humanitarian requirements or risk the possibility of having limits placed on U.S. military aid. This is NPR News.

Who's claiming power at this election? What's happening in battleground states? And why do we still have the electoral college? All this month, the Throughline Podcast is asking big questions about our democracy and going back in time to answer them. Listen now to the Throughline Podcast from NPR.