NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-15-2024 9PM EST

Episode Date: November 16, 2024

NPR News: 11-15-2024 9PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Code Switch team spent Election Day talking to folks about how the outcome might impact them. It's a time capsule of people's hopes and fears before they knew the results. One way or another, there's a change coming. I wanted to vote for Trump, but I voted for her. Gays for Trump. I cried this morning. I've been crying on and off. I'm terrified.

Listen to Code Switch, the podcast about race and identity from NPR. Live from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Democratic lawmakers are at the United Nations Climate Conference urging world leaders to push ahead with efforts to rein in global warming following Donald Trump's reelection. NPR's Michael Copley reports the prospect of a shift in U.S. climate policy is hanging over the talks. Senator Ed Markey says one president can't stop global efforts to limit climate change and deal with its impacts.

But Trump's reelection has rattled leaders at the climate meeting in Azerbaijan. Trump's expected to once again pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement. Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis says the world can't afford sharp swings in policy. The climate crisis does not pose for elections or to accommodate the sway of changing political ideas or ties. It demands continuity. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse says states like New York and California will double down on climate efforts if there isn't leadership in Washington. Michael Copley, NPR News.

In something of a reversal of his previous stance, House Speaker Mike Johnson now says he will strongly request the House Ethics Committee not release its report on the conduct of former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz. Gaetz, who was president-elect, Donald Trump's controversial choice to be the attorney general, resigned his House seat this week

ahead of the release of what was expected to be a scathing report focused on allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. But Cade's resignation effectively ended those proceedings. Johnson's remark is a bit of an about face. He previously withheld comment on the matter, noting the Speaker of the House, quote, is not involved in what happens in ethics. The first day of trial is concluded for the man accused of murdering Georgia nursing student Lachin Riley. Prosecutors told the judge Jose Ibarro encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus in Athens and killed her after a struggle. Emily Wu-Pearson of Member Station WABE reports.

A Superior Court judge heard a full day of testimony from Riley's roommates and law enforcement detailing the morning that Riley was killed. Prosecutors for the state showed video from the doorbell cameras in the apartment complex where Ibarra lived. It showed a man, they said, is Ibarra throwing something into a recycling dumpster. Officers later recovered a dark-hooded jacket with blood that turned out to be Riley's on it. Ibarra is charged with murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and tampering with evidence. Ibarra's status as a Venezuelan national, who crossed into the US illegally, pushed Riley's death into the national spotlight. The trial resumes Monday with evidence from the medical examiner. For NPR News, I'm Emily Wu-Pearson in Atlanta.

Americans were opening their wallets last month and just the latest sign that even in the face of higher prices for some goods, consumer spending remains strong. A latest report on sales at the retail level shows spending up by robust four-tenths of one percent from September to October, with gains in sales of automobiles, electronics, and spending at bars and restaurants. Port comes ahead of the busy holiday shopping season, a critical time for retailers. Stocks lost ground on Wall Street at Weeks and the Dow fell 305 points. This is NPR. School districts are struggling to find and hold on to special education teachers,

especially since the pandemic shortage is adding to the learning challenges students with disabilities already face. More from NPR's Kristen Wright. The Education Department says 39 states report not having enough special ed teachers this year. The Civil Rights Commission is looking into it. Kate Sable lives in Wisconsin. She has two children with developmental disabilities and learning differences in high school. Your kids just aren't getting what they need and they're not getting enough remediation, they're not getting enough one on one time and so it's just a trickle down effect. Sable says fixing this is going to take understanding what educators need.

Every special ed teacher that I have ever met loves what they do and they really want to help and they need support. The Commission's report, including what the federal response should be, is due out next year. Kristen Wright, NPR News, Washington. Scientists say new research has confirmed volcanoes erupted on the far side of the moon billions of years ago. Researchers say in analyzing soil samples brought back by China's Chang'e spacecraft, they found fragments of volcanic rock that were around 2.8 billion years old, some even older. Previous studies have indicated the Moon might have had a volcanic past,

but researchers say the latest analysis proves it. The findings were published in the journals Nature and Science. Critical futures prices gave back some of their recent gains on worries of possible weakening demand from China and a slowing of Fed rate cuts in the U.S. Oil fell $1.68 a barrel to end the session at $6702 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.