NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-05-2024 5PM EST

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

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Enjoying the podcast so far? Get more from shows like this one with NPR+. For a simple recurring donation, you'll get perks from over 20 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, early access, shop discounts, and more. Join us in making the world a more curious and well-informed place at plus.npr.org. Jack Spear Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The final hours of voting in the 2024 general election are still underway across the country. The first set of poll closings is at 6 p.m. Eastern. As NPR's Hosni Lawong reports, election officials are saying turnout today is expected to break some Election Day records. Hosni Lawong Communities in states including Kentucky, Massachusetts and Michigan are on track to

set new records for voter turnout on Election Day. As there are in every election, there have been technical problems at some polling sites, including ballot scanning problems in parts of New York and Pennsylvania. A state judge in that closely watched swing state has extended the poll closing time in one county by two hours to give voters more time to cast ballots this evening. Hansi Luong, NPR News. Georgia's Secretary of State says non-credible threats that briefly closed two polling locations in Fulton County were rushing in origin. W-A-B-E Sam Greenglass has more from Atlanta. The bomb threats were

directed at a handful of polling locations including in Fulton County which is home to Atlanta and is Georgia's most populous county. Two polling places had to briefly pause voting while law enforcement investigated, and the county sought a court order to keep those precincts open slightly later. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other election officials say voting is going smoothly across the state and voters should feel safe going to polling places to cast their votes. Last week, after a hoax video circulated online supposedly showing voter fraud in Georgia,

the US intelligence community determined it was also part of Russian efforts to sow discord during the election. For NPR News, I'm Sam Greenglass in Atlanta. In Western North Carolina, dozens of polling sites had to shift locations due to the fallout from Hurricane Helene. But the natural disaster has not stopped people from voting.

Blue Ridge Public Radio's Laura Hackett has the story. Rain returned to the region on Election Day as voters cast their ballots inside a 5,000 square foot FEMA tent. Next to the tent sits a former cafe turned community aid center, along with a few farm animals. Doug Begumann was one of the people to vote in the tent. He says the voting site is more rustic than usual but he's grateful that it's there. The top issue on his mind was climate change and the need to prepare for future disasters. And I think it's also important to remember that this is something that we should prepare for

moving forward and that climate change is real. Despite the widespread impact of Helene on the region, Western North Carolina has seen record high voter turnout this election. For NPR News, I'm Laura Hackett in Asheville, North Carolina. The co-founder of the giant home improvement chain Home Depot has died Bernard Bernie Marcus, a billionaire philanthropist who is also a Republican mega-donor dying at his home in Florida. Marcus was a major supporter of former President Donald Trump. He donated nearly $5 million to the party between 2016 and 2020.

Bernie Marcus was 95 years old. On Wall Street, the Dow was up 427 points. This is NPR. A major shakeup in Israel where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his well-liked defence minister, Yov Galant. The surprise firing coming as the two have increasingly been at odds throughout the war in Gaza. Netanyahu had avoided dismissing his rival in an attempt to fire Galant last year, sparked

widespread protests. A new economic history paper finds high tariffs levied into decades after the Civil War hurt manufacturers. NPR's Scott Horstley reports the analysis comes as former President Trump has made sweeping tariffs a centerpiece of his economic platform. The paper shines a spotlight on tariffs the U.S. imposed between 1870 and the First World War as the nation's farm economy gave way to a growing manufacturing base. Researchers found industries protected by higher tariffs tended to have lower productivity.

Economist Chris Meisner of UC Davis says factories boomed in spite of the tariffs, not because of them. Our bottom line is that tariffs did not make American manufacturing great. Tariffs don't tend to promote productivity, nor do they promote economic growth, and they have the obvious impact of being bad for consumers by raising prices. Meisner says powerful industries often use political pressure to keep tariffs and profits high. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

Japan's iconic Mount Fuji is nearly always pictured with snow on top, but this year, for the first time in 130 years that snow at least so far is a no-go. Mount Fuji by this time of year nearly always sports its snow cap and the lack of that this year is being blamed on unusually warm temperatures over the past few weeks. Usually the 12,300 foot tall peak is sprinkled with snow by early October. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.