NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-17-2024 2AM EST

Episode Date: November 17, 2024

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Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. President Joe Biden and China's leader met Saturday at the close of the Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in Peru. U.S.-China relations have long been strained as the two superpowers clash over trade, Taiwan,

and Russia. And NPR's Carrie Khan reports the uncertainty over the incoming Trump administration has brought new tensions. President-elect Trump has vowed to slap 60 percent tariffs on Chinese imports. Speaking Friday in Peru, without mentioning the incoming president, Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed concern about the rise of quote, unilateralism and protectionism. He said the world is entering a phase of quote, turbulence and transformation. Xi will be in Latin America for a week attending a state dinner and the G20 conference in Brazil,

as well as overseeing major Chinese investments in Latin America. Biden also heads to the G20 with a stop in Brazil's Amazon Sunday. The rainforest's major rivers are at their lowest recorded levels due to a historic drought, scientists say is caused by climate change. Kerry Kahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro. President-elect Donald Trump is filling out his cabinet quickly, and NPR's Domenico Montanaro reports that Trump's picks are very different than the ones he made eight years ago for his first term.

When Trump took office in 2016, he was a political outsider. He didn't have many friends in Washington, so he relied on Republicans that he was getting to know. But he clashed with many of the traditionalists that he appointed—generals who later called him a fascist and a threat to the Constitution, a senator who pushed back against directives at the Justice Department. This time around, it's a team of loyalists and campaign allies. And with control over Congress, that could mean more sweeping changes done more quickly.

Domenico Montanaro, NPR News, Washington. Trump meanwhile said Saturday he will nominate Chris Wright to lead the Energy Department. Wright is the founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, which is a fracking firm based in Denver. Wright has no political experience and he has said publicly there's no climate change crisis, despite scientific consensus that there is. The annual United Nations climate meeting, known as COP29, has reached the halfway point in Baku, Azerbaijan. A primary focus for the negotiators there is working out the details for how wealthy countries will help developing nations cope with a warming world.

But as NPR's Jeff Brady tells us, one thing that seems all but certain is that goals set under the Paris Agreement reached nine years ago will likely not be achieved. The Paris goal is to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, that's 2.7 Fahrenheit, over pre-industrial temperatures. And scientists tell us that's what's needed to avoid some really bad climate effects. We're already experiencing some of them, more severe storms, you know, flooding, extreme heat. Wealthy countries agreed to cut greenhouse gases first, but the world is not on track to meet that Paris Agreement goal and will likely push past that goal. That's NPR's Jeff Brady reporting on climate talks underway in Azerbaijan. You're listening to NPR News.

A stabbing attack at a vocational school in southern China has left eight people dead and 17 others injured. That's according to police there. As MPR's Emily Fang reports, the attack was reportedly mounted by a student. Police in the city of Yixing said a 21-year-old student went on a murderous rampage after failing to pass his graduation exams and expressing dissatisfaction with an internship placement. The suspect is in custody. Knife attacks like this are common in China. In October, a man attacked children with a knife in Beijing, wounding five. The month before, a stabbing in a Shanghai supermarket left two people dead. The suspect said he was unhappy about a

financial dispute. This week's stabbing attack comes on the heels of another tragedy just last week in which a man intentionally drove his car into a crowd in another city in southern China killing 35 people. He said he was unhappy with a recent divorce settlement. Emily Fang and Peer News. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is on his 12th trip to the Indo-Pacific region since he began leading the department and it will be his last. He met with military officials from a number of U.S. allies in the region while in Australia he praised that country's role in helping to train U.S. forces. There are a lot of great training areas in the world. This has to be one of the best. Austin also met with officials in the Philippines,

Laos and Fiji. A strike by culinary workers union employees against the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Casino is continuing this weekend. Both the union and the casino say that negotiations have stalled because of disagreements over pay. The union is the largest in Nevada with about 60,000 members. podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.