NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-14-2024 6AM EST

Episode Date: November 14, 2024

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Otagraff Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at otagraffcollection.com. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. President Biden travels to South America today for a series of meetings with world leaders. As NPR's Ashma Khalid reports, Biden faces a difficult time in the country. He's not the only one who's facing a difficult time. He's also facing a difficult time in the From NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. President Biden travels to South America today for a series of meetings with world leaders. As NPR's Akshma Khalid reports, Biden faces a daunting challenge following Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election. President Biden came into office with a mission to strengthen U.S. alliances.

And that is the record he'll be taking with him when he meets in Lima with leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. He'll go with our alliances in the Indo-Pacific at a literal all-time high. Japan, Korea, Australia, the Philippines. That's Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, speaking to reporters. And that's what he's going to hand off to President Trump. But Trump has championed a go-it-alone America First vision, threatening tariffs on friends

and foes. So it's not clear how Biden may try to reassure anxious allies this week. Asma Khalid, NPR News, Lima. President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general. Gaetz is a well-known Trump ally, and Trump has called him deeply gifted and tenacious. But many observers, like Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, say they're shocked by the nomination. Gates was investigated by the Justice Department, the agency he is nominated to lead

for potential sex trafficking charges. Prosecutors recommended against the charges after a long probe. Gates was also the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation, also related to sex trafficking and drug allegations. But he resigned from the House last night. The Republican chair of the House Ethics Committee, Mississippi Congressman Michael Guest, says that means the Gates probe is over. Once they are not in office, the Ethics Committee then ceases all investigation and there is no follow-up reports that are issued.

It's not clear if the allegations that Congressman Gates previously faced will arise in his Senate confirmation process. Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he has a mandate from Donald Trump to reduce chronic disease in the U.S. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports that an estimated 60% of Americans have at least one chronic illness. Chronic disease is a leading cause of death in the United States and President-elect Trump says RFK Jr. has a plan to fix this.

He's going to help make America healthy again. But here's the challenge. Most chronic diseases are caused by risk factors like smoking, lack of physical activity and poor nutrition. Dr. Dariush Mazafarian is a cardiologist at Tufts University. We're absolutely drowning under a flood of chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes and many other metabolic conditions. One policy RFK Jr backs that may find broad support are changes to the Snap Food Assistance Program, formerly known as Food Stamps.

The goal is to encourage people to use their benefits to purchase healthy foods. Alison Albrey, NPR News. You're listening to NPR. Dozens of New York City firefighters have been tackling a brush fire on the northern tip of Manhattan. They're putting out hot spots now. New York has faced nearly 230 brush fires in the past two weeks, a city record for a two-week time period. This comes as much of the East Coast faces record drought conditions. A wildfire burning on the shared border between New York and New Jersey is about

half contained, as NPR's Brian Mann reports. Fire lines surrounding the Jennings Creek blaze have stopped it from spreading despite dry conditions and heavy winds. But New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says drought conditions have meant hundreds of other forests and brush fires breaking out across his state. He's calling for voluntary water conservation. This drought could grow even more severe, which may eventually require mandatory water

restrictions. Because of drought and growing fire danger, many states across the Northeast have banned outdoor burning. Brian Mann, NPR News. California fire officials say they've surrounded nearly 80 percent of the mountain fire burning northwest of Los Angeles. That has been incredibly destructive. Nearly 240 structures have been destroyed and most of them are homes.

The National Hurricane Center is watching a disturbance in the Western Caribbean that could become Tropical Storm Sarah. Forecasters say it is likely to solidify soon and then strengthen into a hurricane by the weekend. Tropical storm warnings are now up for parts of Central America, and forecasters say some areas in Honduras could get up to 30 inches of rain. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.