NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-14-2024 8PM EST

Episode Date: November 15, 2024

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Joe Biden's on his way out and Donald Trump's on his way back. Want to know what's happening as the presidential transition is underway? The NPR Politics Podcast has you covered with the latest news and analysis. Listen to the NPR Politics Podcast. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Donald Trump has not had many defenders in Congress, but he is rewarding one of his most stalwart. had many defenders in Congress, but he is rewarding one of his most stalwart. Trump picking former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general for getting the nomination to prove more of an uphill battle as we hear from NPR's Deidre Walz. Those close to Trump are defending Gaetz saying he's

qualified for the job. Corey Lewandowski, a top Trump campaign official, was on Newsmax today and saying if this is who Trump wants, they're gonna use all the resources at their disposal to make sure he's confirmed. Lewandowski said Gates's nomination was not, quote, a head fake. There aren't any signs right now that any Senate Republican leaders are weighing in. Senator John Thune, I talked to the incoming Senate Majority Leader, and he said questions about the nomination are something to ask the Senate Judiciary Committee about. Gates resigned his House seat yesterday, sidestepping a House Ethics Committee probe

in the sex trafficking allegations. Trump, meanwhile, also today announced he's chosen personal lawyer Todd Blanche as Assistant AG. Trump has also picked a former Congressman Doug Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. And Bureau's Quill Lawrence supports Collins served in Iraq and is an Air Force chaplain. Former Georgia Republican Congressman Doug Collins left office in 2021 after an unsuccessful run for Senate. Since then, he's worked as a lawyer for Trump and supported his re-election campaign. He still serves in the Air Force Reserves. The nomination surprised many close watchers of the department because Collins has not

worked prominently on veterans issues in the past. VA is the second largest government department after the Pentagon and have confirmed Collins will oversee hundreds of thousands of staff and hundreds of billions of dollars spent on veterans' care and benefits. Announcing his nomination, Trump said Collins would be a great advocate for our active duty service members, veterans, and military families to ensure they have the support they need. Quill Lawrence, NPR News. Nat. New York's governor is moving ahead with a plan to charge drivers a fee to enter the

busiest parts of Manhattan. Kathy Hochul paused the congestion pricing program in June, just before it was set to launch. For Steven Ness of Member Station WNYC, New York reports, it's coming back. Governor Hochul paused the original plan, saying with inflation and the high cost of living, a $15 daily toll was too high. Now, she wants to relaunch it and charge vehicles that drive in Manhattan, south of 60th Street,

$9 a day. Of course I understand how hard this is, but this is the law of the state of New York. I'm obligated to follow New York law. And I worked hard to find a creative solution to relieve the burden on these same individuals who are struggling. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to kill the tolls once in office. In a statement, he says he respects the governor but disagrees with the decision. The tolls are expected to launch on January 5th. For NPR News, I'm Stephen Nesson in New York. Wall Street's

main index is closed lower today. Investors apparently are not heartened by comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell about the pace of interest rate cutting. Dow fell 207 points. This is NPR. President-elect Trump's move to appoint billionaire Laudan Musk as cost cutter in chief is not without precedent. A similar move was carried out by former President Ronald Reagan, who tapped chemical magnate J. Peter Grace to lead a bureaucratic cost-cutting commission

in 1982. However, Grace also had fewer conflicts of interest than Musk. For one, Musk has billions of dollars in contracts with NASA, his Tesla electric car company also benefits from government tax incentives, and is subject to federal safety regulations. But social media platform acts and AI operations also intersect with government in other ways. A Texas grand jury has indicted a construction supervisor and his employer in the 2021 death of a 24-year-old man working in a trench that collapsed on him. MPR's Robert Benincos says more. Juan Jose Galván Batalla was completely buried in soil and debris when he was working in a trench in Travis County installing a sewer line. Project Superintendent Carlos Alejandro Guerrero and his employer were charged with criminally negligent homicide. County District

Attorney Jose Garza cited NPR's investigation earlier this year, which found that 250 workers died in largely preventable trench collapses from 2013 to 2023, and that only 11 employers had been prosecuted. Garza noted that none of those prosecutions took place in Texas and that it was time to hold employers accountable. An attorney representing the project superintendent says the workers death was a tragedy, but it was also an accident. Robert Benincasa, NPR News. Crude features prices closed higher, oil up 27 cents a barrel to 68.70 a barrel in New York.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.