NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-12-2024 5PM EST

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A judge in New York City has decided to postpone a decision on whether President-elect Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution in his criminal hush money trial. That decision now could come next week. Attorneys for Trump say prosecutors presented evidence during the trial that stemmed from Trump's time in office. NPR's Amanda Bastille reports they argue that should not have been allowed. Lawyers for the Manhattan District Attorney over the weekend asked New York Judge Juan Marchand to delay his decision on immunity in order to review how the presidential election

would impact Trump's landmark criminal trial. Trump in May was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Emil Bovi, one of Trump's lawyers, agreed with the delay. Bovi said the stay Trump's lawyers, agreed with the delay. Bovi said the stay and even a dismissal are necessary to avoid unconstitutional impediments to Trump's ability to govern. The New York judge was expected today to make a decision on whether some evidence brought

in during Trump's trial violated the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that presidents cannot be prosecuted for official acts taken in office. Ximena Bustillo NPR News, New York. Federal judges temporarily blocking Louisiana law that would require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. Arbor, U-Haas, a member station, WWNO, as more. In granting the temporary injunction, the judge says the law is unconstitutional on its face, meaning he doesn't see a situation

where it wouldn't violate the Constitution. He says the law has an overtly religious purpose, and that plaintiffs are likely to win their lawsuit against the state by claiming it violates the First Amendment, which protects freedom of religion. State officials argue the Ten Commandments have historic and cultural value, and that's why they should be displayed in schools. They plan to appeal. The case could make it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a conservative

supermajority. For NPR News, I'm Aubrey Ujas in New Orleans. The FAA is prohibiting American air carriers from landing in Haiti, and Bear's Adair Peralta reports it comes after at least two U.S. aircraft were struck by gunfire. Haiti is in the middle of another chapter of political instability. Its transitional government has failed to stop the advance of gangs, and a majority of them decided to fire their prime minister. A new prime minister has taken over, but gangs have been rampaging across neighborhoods in the capital port of Prince.

On Monday, as two American planes approached the runway at the airport The planes faced gunfire a flight attendant was injured on a Spirit Airlines flight Which was diverted to the Dominican Republic and a jet blue plane only found out it was hit when it was inspected in New York The ban will remain in place for 30 days Aida Peralta, NPR News, Mexico City. Justice Department regulators say they're suing to block United Health Group's $3.3 billion purchase of Amdesis, government regulators citing concerns the deal would hinder access to home health and hospice service in the U.S. On Wall Street, the Dow is down 382 points.

This is NPR. The Samantha Harvey Novel Orbital has won this year's Booker Prize. The award goes to the best literature published in the UK and Ireland. As NPR's Andrew Limbong reports, the book follows one day in the life of six astronauts. Orbital is set in a space station going around the Earth. According to the Booker Prize announcement, the novel is the first book set in space to win the award. The book came out in December 2023, and when it was first released, author Samantha Harvey

told NPR that she wanted to write about space in a grounded, realistic way. So that's what I wanted to capture in this book, a sense of nature writing about this wilderness, and to see what it would be like to write about space without the projections that we usually put on it. Winners of the prize receive 50,000 British pounds, a little over 64,000 US dollars. Andrew Limbong and Per News. A network of European art forgers whose work included fake Picasso's, Banksy's and Warhol's has reportedly been shut down by Italian authorities.

Officials say a total of 38 people have been arrested and on charges they tried to sell the works with the help of complicit auction houses. Authorities say they have recovered more than 2,100 forged works they believe caused more than $200 million in economic damage by flooding the market with fakes. With the money continuing to pour into cryptocurrency on the heels of a Trump presidential victory, the value of one of the most closely watched cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, has soared, the value of a single Bitcoin hitting $87,000. Analysts say the prospect of a more crypto-friendly administration is largely fueling the rise. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.