NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-07-2024 3PM EST

Episode Date: November 7, 2024

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Donald Trump has won the 2024 election. How did it happen and what are his plans for a second term? Find out by listening to the NPR Politics Podcast. We'll keep you informed every weekday with the latest news from the presidential transition. Listen to the NPR Politics Podcast. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Good to see the cabinet and the staff together. Emotional reception in the White House Rose Garden for President Biden today. Biden delivered his first address since his party lost a president-elect Donald Trump two days ago.

He congratulated the Trump and Harris campaigns. Biden acknowledged the will of the majority and noted the integrity of America's electoral system. It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. And it can be trusted, win or lose. I also hope we can restore the respect for all our election workers who busted their necks and took risks at the outset. After his loss to Biden four years ago, Trump and many of his allies alleged the system was marred by fraud.

Multiple elections officials and courts concluded otherwise. The Federal Reserve lowered short-term interest rates this afternoon. NPR's Scott Horsey reports the central bank cut its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point. This is the Fed's second interest rate cut in as many meetings and it should make it somewhat cheaper to borrow money to buy a car, grow a business or just carry a balance on your credit card. The move comes as inflation has inched closer to the Fed's target of 2 percent. The central bank is also responding to signs of a slowdown in the job market.

The Fed wants to keep borrowing costs high enough to curb inflation, but not so high as to trigger a jump in unemployment. Interest rates are projected to keep falling in the coming year, although perhaps not as fast as previously expected. President-elect Trump's call for sweeping tariffs and widespread deportations could put upward pressure on prices, making inflation a little more stubborn. Scott Horsley in Pear News, Washington. Cuba is dealing with the lingering effects of Hurricane Rafael, which struck the islandation yesterday as a powerful Category 3 storm. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports forecasters say the storm should lose steam as it moves over

the south-central Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Rafael knocked out Cuba's power grid, damaged buildings and dumped heavy rainfall before turning west over the Gulf of Mexico. National Hurricane Center director, Michael Brennan says, Rafael does not pose a serious threat to the US Gulf Coast other than dangerous surf conditions. The good news also is the environment around Rafael is quite dry and we are expecting gradual to steady weakening

over the next several days with Raphael becoming a tropical storm. Raphael is the 17th named storm of a more active than normal Atlantic hurricane season which runs through the end of November. Debbie Elliott, NPR News. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 37 points at 43,765. The S&P has risen 47 points and the NASDAQ is up nearly 300 points. This is NPR. Climate change is driving up insurance rates in coastal North Carolina where sea levels have risen nearly a foot in recent decades. From member station WHQR in Wilmington, Kelly Kenore reports it's affecting the in coastal North Carolina where sea levels have risen nearly a foot in recent decades. From member station WHQR in Wilmington, Kelly Kenore reports it's affecting the availability

of affordable housing. developers in coastal North Carolina are looking to build in towns further inland because of dramatic increases in insurance premiums, up to 70% per year for developers like Stephanie Norris. She says if that keeps happening, I'm no longer a developer anymore. I can't keep doing this, even though I love it. And it's my purpose. Norris says affordable housing is particularly vulnerable to insurance volatility. Federal regulations stop developers from shifting costs to low-income renters. So it's easy for a developer to end up underwater when insurance rates rise. It means coastal areas and other regions prone to severe impacts from climate change may experience a deeper

affordable housing crisis, leaving many people with limited housing options. For NPR News, I'm Kelly Kenoyer. Danielle Pletka Dozens of European leaders are meeting in Hungary today to talk about Ukraine and other security concerns, especially now that they'll be negotiating with President-elect Trump, a frequent critic of other NATO members. Secretary General Mark Rutte struck a positive note. When he was president, he was the one in NATO who stimulated us to move over the 2 percent. And now, also thanks to him, NATO, if you take out the numbers of the U.S. for a moment,

is above the 2 percent. I don't think very much that is his doing, his success, out the numbers of the U.S. for a moment, is above the 2%. I don't think very much that is his doing, his success, and we need to do more. We know this. The host of the summit, Hungary's authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is a staunch Trump ally. It's NPR.