NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-15-2024 2PM EST

Episode Date: November 15, 2024

NPR News: 11-15-2024 2PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey, it's Aisha Harris from Pop Culture Happy Hour. If you love NPR podcasts, you'll want the new NPR Plus podcast bundle. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat selection of NPR Plus podcasts with sponsor-free listening and bonus episodes. Plus, you'll be supporting public radio. Check it out at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Laxmelea Laxmelea-Laxmelea. The incoming Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, tells Fox News he and his colleagues are leaving all the options on the table to ensure President-elect Trump's nominees get confirmed.

All these people have a process that they have to go through. All these nominees are, it's, you know, advise and consent. That's the Senate's constitutional role when it comes to confirmation of nominations to the executive branch of the government. And we take that role seriously, but we also are not gonna allow the Democrats to obstruct or block President Trump and the will of the American people. Danielle Pletka Thune acknowledged likely opposition in the Senate to certain nominees, such as former Representative Matt Gaetz for attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for health and human services secretary. Asked about the recess appointment option

that would allow president-elect Trump to get around the confirmation process, Thune said that's on the table but hopes it doesn't get to that. President Biden is in Peru where he will meet with several world leaders including those from South Korea and Japan. NPR's Asma Khalid reports Biden is trying to cement this trilateral relationship as he wraps up his presidency and prepares other nations for the incoming Trump administration. This three-way cooperation on technology and security has been a hallmark of the Biden administration and it's a relationship they hope the Trump team will embrace. Here's Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, speaking to reporters on Air Force One.

And given the bipartisan support for it, we fully expect that it would continue under the next administration, though of course they'll make their own decisions. This relationship is part of Biden's broader strategy of working with allies in the region to counter China's influence. And this meeting with South Korea and Japan comes a day ahead of a separate meeting that Biden is holding tomorrow with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Asma Khalid, NPR News, Lima. The man accused of murdering Georgia nursing student Lakin Riley is on trial. Riley's

killing in February became a flashpoint in the national conversation about immigration. Emily Wu-Pearson of Member Station WABE reports, the defendant charged in Riley's death is a Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. illegally. Prosecutors are painting Jose Ibarra as a man who was, quote, hunting for females on the day Riley was killed. They allege Ibarra was looking into a window earlier that morning in a nearby apartment complex in Athens, and that he encountered Riley while she was out for a run. Ibarra's charges include murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and tampering with evidence. He waived his right to a jury trial earlier this week, meaning his case will be heard and decided

by a judge. A defense attorney said the evidence is circumstantial and does not prove his client's guilt. The state of Georgia is seeking life in jail without parole. For NPR News, I'm Emily Wu-Pearson in Atlanta. US stocks are trading lower this hour. The Dow is down 363 points or more than three quarters of a percent. This is NPR News. General Motors is terminating about a thousand employees worldwide. Most are in white-collar jobs in the U.S., including GM's tech center in Warren, Michigan. Affected employees were notified this morning by email. A GM statement reportedly was light on specifics but confirmed the layoffs. GM is trying to make sweeping cuts as it faces stiff competition in the electric vehicle

market. Retail sales picked up four-tenths of a percent last month. Today's government report offering an upbeat sign about consumer spending and the overall strength of the economy heading into the holiday shopping season. Tropical storm Sarah is dumping huge amounts of rain as it moves just off the coast of Honduras and PR's Ada Peralta reports forecasters say the rain could cause catastrophic damage. The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Sarah will meander near the northern coast of Honduras through tomorrow evening. It means some parts of the country could see more than 20 inches of rain, which could cause quote

catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides. The Disaster Management Agency in Honduras says some areas have been experiencing torrential rain since Thursday night. So far, the agency says 20,000 people have been affected, 86 homes have been damaged, and three people are missing. Tropical Storms era is expected to make landfall in Belize and then make its way across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula before emerging in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday.

Aida Peralta, NPR News, Mexico City. The NASDAQ is down 484 points or 2.5 percent. The S&P has fallen 1.5 percent. The Dow is down three-quarters of a percent. You're listening to NPR News.