NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-14-2024 5AM EST

Episode Date: November 14, 2024

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JANINE HERFST. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. Republicans have won enough seats to control the U.S. House, with 218 seats, according to the Associated Press, and that secures a full trifecta of GOP power in Washington that gives the GOP a narrow majority in the House and a three-seat majority in the Senate. With those victories, President-elect Donald Trump will once again have allies on Capitol Hill in place to enact key items on his agenda, like expanded border security crackdowns and changes to the U.S. tax code, along with broad oversight over judicial nominations. And Trump has chosen Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz to become the next U.S. Attorney General. For Member Station WFSU, Tristan Wood has more.

Gaetz is a Trump loyalist and frequent critic of the current Justice Department for bringing criminal charges against the president-elect. Gates' appointment is being met with condemnation from Democrats and left-of-center legal groups, who call him unqualified in question his impartiality. But it's also being hailed by many Republicans, including Florida GOP Chair Evan Power. I think that the same has been if you need a job done, you send a Florida man or woman. You know, so we're getting our fair share there. Gates is the fourth Republican from Florida to be tapped for a role in the Trump administration.

For NPR News, I'm Tristan Wood in Tallahassee. Gates was the subject of a House ethics probe over allegations of sex trafficking until Wednesday when he resigned from his House seat. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson says he will keep an open mind on Trump's picks for his administration. I'm going to have a totally open mind. My bias will always be to support the president's nominee unless I see something really problematic

in the background. Yesterday's Republicans elected Senator John Thune as their new Senate majority leader, replacing Mitch McConnell. Grace's hotline serving the LGBTQ plus community have become overwhelmed in the wake of the election. And Piers Windsor-Johnston reports organizations say they're struggling to keep up with phone calls from people concerned about their physical

and mental health. 43-year-old Miatrand is a bisexual black woman who creates content on TikTok for a living. She says she's received a number of threats before and after the election. I have gotten it from the racist side as well as the homophobic side. It's hard to understand that people just hate you for who you love or how you were born. The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization that serves the LGBTQ plus community, is reporting a spike in calls to its hotline. The group says calls increased by 700% the day after the election from some young people needing support.

Windsor-Johnston, NPR News. World financial markets, Asian markets were in mixed territory, the Nikkei down about a half percent. U.S. futures contracts are trading flat. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A lawsuit filed by a group of young people against the federal government over climate change has suffered another setback. And Pierce Jeffreidy reports the Supreme Court declined to order an appeals court to reverse its decision from earlier this year. The case is Juliana versus the United States. And last May, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the federal government and dismissed

the case. In the decade-old lawsuit, young people argue the country's reliance on fossil fuels that are warming the climate violates their constitutional rights. The last three presidential administrations have all opposed the lawsuit. Now the group heading the lawsuit, Our Children's Trust, says it still has options and plans to file a request next month for the Supreme Court to hear the case. Jeff Brady, NPR News. President Biden travels to two major summits this week to reassure world leaders that America remains committed to staying engaged in the world as his successor, Champagne's go-it-alone approach. Biden will meet with dozens of

world leaders in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference, APEC, in Peru, as well as the G20 summit in Brazil. Biden will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Saturday at the APEC summit. And just days ahead of that G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, the presidential office says a man suspected of trying to launch an attack was killed last night outside the country's Supreme Court of Brasilia. Authorities say he was trying to gain access to the building, but he failed to do so and then detonated the device he was carrying outside, killing himself. A motive is being investigated.

I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.