NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-10-2024 1PM EST

Episode Date: November 10, 2024

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Hey, it's Aisha Harris from Pop Culture Happy Hour. If you love NPR podcasts, you'll want the new NPR Plus podcast bundle. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat selection of NPR Plus podcasts with sponsor-free listening and bonus episodes. Plus, you'll be supporting public radio. Check it out at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. The AP has now declared Donald Trump the winner of Arizona. He now holds 312 electoral votes. Kamala Harris took 226.

Democrats are assessing what happened. NPR's Mara Liason reports. Compared to 2020, Kamala Harris did worse with almost every voter group, including women. Was it the fundamentals, high prices and an unpopular president? Or was it Biden's reluctance to step aside, leaving Harris too little time to develop a persona different from when she ran as a liberal candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2020? How much did race and gender matter?

It was probably all of those things, and now Democrats are confronting the possibility that there's a political realignment underway, where Republicans are becoming a multi-racial working class party that also gives tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations. Democrats want to reverse that trend, but first they have to figure out how. Mara Liason, NPR News. Drought and historic warmth are contributing to wildfire risk in the Northeast. There are concerns about air quality. And across the country, outside Los Angeles, firefighters have managed to gain ground on a wildfire that's destroyed dozens of homes. NPR's Amy Held has details.

For years, the Western U.S. has dealt with drought and wildfires. Now in much of the East, October has gone down as the driest month on record. Blazes have broken out in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In New York City, hundreds of brush fires have burned in all five boroughs in recent weeks. And the city smells like smoke. Mayor Eric Adams spoke Saturday. Those who are dealing with respiratory issues, we're asking you to stay indoors or have

an air filter. In Orange County, New York, a park's worker was killed battling a forest fire. But in California, conditions are improving outside of L.A. where easing winds are helping firefighters contain a wildfire that's burned more than 20,000 acres. Amy Held and PR News. Russia says its air defense downed more than 30 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow, injuring at least one civilian. The attacks appear to be Kiev's largest on the Russian capital since the Kremlin launched its initial invasion of Ukraine two and a half years ago. NPR's Charles Mainz has details.

The drone attacks forced the temporary shutdown of three of Moscow's four main airports with passenger flights diverted or delayed. Social media posts also appear to show several houses on the outskirts of the city that caught fire from felled debris. Russia's Defense Ministry says its air defenses destroyed another 36 drones over regions of western Russia. While the Ukrainian capital Kiev is regularly targeted by Russian drone and missile strikes, Ukrainian responses have mostly focused on Russian energy infrastructure. Attacks on Moscow are relatively rare.

Two Ukrainian drones struck buildings inside the Kremlin walls in May of 2023, after which President Vladimir Putin ordered his top brass to beef up the city's air defenses. Charles Maynes, NPR News. This is NPR. Ecuador's president has suspended his vice president, accusing her of abandoning her duties. The suspension is the latest in a feud between the two charged with running the government during a time of unprecedented gang violence and an electricity crisis.

NPR's Carrie Kahn reports. Ecuador's foreign ministry says the vice president, Veronica Abad, refused an order to move to Turkey. Abad is also the current ambassador to Israel. Her lawyer says the 150-day suspension is a, quote, extremely serious move, which may not have legal standing. Abad and President Daniel Noboa have been locked in a long public feud. Abad has formally accused Noboa and other officials of gender-based violence in what her lawyer says

has been undue pressure to get her to resign ahead of elections next year. To run for reelection in February as he plans, President Noboa would have to temporarily resign. With the current suspension, VP Abbott would not be able to take power while Noboa campaigns. Kari Kahn, NPR News.

The AP late yesterday called a congressional race in Arizona for Republican incumbent and staunch Trump ally, Eli Crane. Crane, a former Navy SEAL and member of the House Freedom Caucus, was challenged by former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, who ran as a Democrat. The GOP-leaning district includes Prescott, Flagstaff and suburbs north of Tucson. It also includes more than half of Arizona's 22 Native American nations. Other U.S. House races remain unresolved there. I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News.