NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-06-2024 5PM EST

Episode Date: November 6, 2024

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Genine Herbst Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve. In her concession speech today, Vice President Harris says she accepts the election results but will continue to fight. I will never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions and aspirations. Where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their

own body and not have their government telling them what to do. She spoke on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C., the historically black college she graduated from. Meanwhile, the White House says President Biden called Trump today to congratulate him on his victory. And in the next administration, Republicans will control the Senate. But the House is still in play.

As NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports, the GOP, if it retains its majority there, Trump will have a unified government. Most competitive House races remain too close to call, with many outstanding in blue states on the West Coast. GOP lawmakers are confident they'll hold a narrow majority in the House. If they do, they'll cement unified government. Republicans would control both chambers of Congress and the White House, giving them the power and numbers needed to enact a Republican legislative agenda.

One of the most consequential tasks facing the new Congress next year will be the remaking of the tax code. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, one of President-elect Trump's signature pieces of legislation in his last term, expires next year. Barbara Spren and Peer News, Washington. And voters in a handful of states and local elections approved ballot measures aimed at helping low-wage workers and their families. As NPR's Andrea Hsu reports, many of the wins came in red states.

Andrea Hsu, NPR Newsweek, MSNBC News, News 8 In Missouri and Alaska, voters approved measures raising their state minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026 in Missouri and by 2027 in Alaska. After that, the minimum wage will be adjusted annually for inflation. The same ballot measures also gave workers in both states the right to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. An estimated 22 percent of American workers have no paid sick leave. Meanwhile, voters in Travis County, Texas, which includes most of Austin, and Sonoma County, California, approved tax hikes to help low-income families access child care. In both states,

advocates noted that a year of childcare can exceed the cost of college tuition. Andrea Hsu, NPR News. Wall Street sharply higher by the close with a record close for the Dow, the Dow up 1508 points, the Nasdaq up 544. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. In California, strong gusty Santa Ana winds, combined with very low humidity, are fueling fast-moving wildfires. One is threatening multimillion-dollar homes along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Los Angeles County fire crews are working to contain that fire, and residents are urged

to shelter in place. At least two structures have burned. Meanwhile, the fast-moving Mountain Fire in southern Ventura County has prompted evacuations after burning 248 acres. Fire officials say wind gusts are between 50 and 100 miles an hour, and thousands of customers are without power because of the fires. Hurricane Rafael made landfall in Cuba this afternoon as a major category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles an hour. And Pierce Debbie Elliott has more. The likely impacts from Hurricane Rafael in

Cuba include life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds, flash flooding and landslides. Forecasters say the Florida Keys and the dry Tortugas will experience tropical storm conditions. National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan says Rafael will move into the Gulf of Mexico on a somewhat uncertain westward track. It looks like there's going to be a ridge of high pressure that's going to prevent Rafael from turning northward toward the northern Gulf Coast. That forecast track has Raphael weakening into a tropical storm as it moves over the central Gulf over the weekend. Oil and gas companies have evacuated workers from about a dozen

offshore production platforms. Debbie Elliott, NPR News. And I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.