NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-12-2024 1AM EST

Episode Date: November 12, 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, I'm Giles Snyder. Among the choices President-elect Donald Trump has made as he fills out posts in his incoming administration are two men who will play a defining role in immigration policy. Trump has named Tom Homan as his borders are, and NPR's Jasmine Gar says Stephen Miller

is returning to the White House as Deputy Chief of Staff. Miller was the senior advisor to Trump during his first administration, and immigration has been his main policy focus. Again, no concrete plans have been revealed, but Miller has advocated for what he and Trump allies are saying will be the largest deportation in U.S. history. Congress is back in Washington this week for its final lame duck session under divided

government. NPR's Claudia Grisales reports that parties in both chambers will elect new leaders. President-elect Donald Trump has already told the Senate he's looking for a way to fast-track his cabinet nominations, even as the GOP still needs to pick its new leaders in that chamber, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stepping down, South Dakota Senator John Thune, Texas Senator John Cornyn, and Florida Senator Rick Scott are in the running to replace him. In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson is well positioned to keep his post while his leadership team could see a shakeup.

Trump nominated New York Representative Elise Stefanik, the House Republican Conference Chair, to be the next UN Ambassador, and several Republicans are now running to replace her. Claudia Gonzalez, NPR News, Washington. Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego has won election to the U.S. Senate in Arizona. The Associated Press called the race a short time ago, saying the latest vote count closed off any remaining paths to victory for Republican Kerry Lake. In Southern California, the AP has not yet declared a winner in the Los Angeles area House race between Republican Congressman Mike Garcia and Democrat George Whitesides, but Garcia has conceded. Israeli airstrikes on a residential building in the Syrian capital

of Damascus have left at least seven people dead, as NPR's Ruha Sherlock reports. Videos shared on social media appear to show a building with the fourth floor blown out and dust and lumps of cement scattered around. The Syrian Ministry of Defense says women and children are among the dead and that some 20 people are injured. The attack happened in an area close to the side of Zaynab Mosque, a shrine of major importance for Shia Muslims. The area is also a stronghold of the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, which maintains a presence in Syria after helping the regime of Bashar al-Assad win the Syrian civil war. Israel hasn't commented on the strike, but it has previously said it's targeting

weapons supplies and positions belonging to Hezbollah and other Iran-backed militias in Syria. In recent months it's stepped up these attacks, hitting hundreds of targets across the country. Ruth Sherlock, MPR News. This is MPR. Tensions in Amsterdam following violence last week targeting fans of an Israeli soccer club. Dutch police say several people were arrested Monday evening after a tram caught fire. Police say the fire was likely caused by fireworks that were thrown at it. A police spokesman says no one was hurt and the tram was empty at the time. Fire crews are battling a wildfire on the border of New York and New Jersey. Rebecca Rettelmeyer of Member Station WSKG reports on the Jennings Creek fire. Dry conditions have been fueling fires in the Northeast. Samantha Borosoff is a climatologist

at the Northeast Regional Climate Center. She says drought across a huge swath of the region has created a high risk for fires. Conditions are just exceptionally dry and it's just unfortunately a recipe for wildfires to start, to burn deeper, to burn longer, be harder to put out. Several other wildfires have burned across the Northeast in recent days, including in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. For NPR News, I'm Rebecca Rettelmeier in Ithaca. Much larger fires are burning in California, but crews are reporting progress against a

wildfire northwest of Los Angeles, in Ventura County. In Nevada, evacuated residents have been allowed to return to their homes after a wind-whipped wildfire forced them to flee. Authorities in South Carolina say five more monkeys have been returned to a compound that breeds them for medical research. Police now say 30 of the 43 monkeys that escaped last week are back in the company's custody unharmed. They escaped after an employee did not fully lock an enclosure. This is NPR News. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Dignity Memorial. When your celebration of life is prepaid today, your family is protected tomorrow. Planning ahead is truly one of the best gifts you can give your family.

For additional information, visit DignityMemorial.ca.