NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-17-2024 5PM EST

Episode Date: November 17, 2024

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Hey, it's Peter Sagal, the host of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Now, if you like Wait, Wait, and you're looking for another podcast where the hosts take self-deprecating jabs at themselves and invite important guests on who have no business being there, then you should check out NPR's How to Do Everything. It's hosted by two of the minds behind Wait, Wait, who literally sometimes put words in my mouth. Find the How to Do Everything podcast wherever you are currently listening to me go on about it. Janine Herbst Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. For the first time, President Biden has given Ukraine the green light to use powerful American long-range weapons for strikes inside Russia. And here's Julianna Kim has more.

Julianna Kim The Biden administration had long resisted allowing Ukraine to fire American long-range missiles into Russian territory for fear that it would only escalate fighting. But on Sunday, a U.S. official told NPR that the Biden administration has reversed its policy and will now allow Ukraine to use those weapons to strike in and around the Russian region of Kursk. It's the same area where North Korea sent some 10,000 troops to help Russia last month. The U.S. official was not authorized to speak publicly about the decision, but said Britain will likely follow suit and allow Ukraine

to use their long-range missiles at Russia. The British needed U.S. approval because these missiles contain U.S. components. Juliana Kim, NPR News. And President Biden toured Brazil's Amazon rainforest this afternoon, the first sitting U.S. president to do so. This on his way to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro that starts tomorrow. Biden pledged U.S. support to fight climate change, something the incoming Trump administration is unlikely to fund. And Pierce Carey-Kahn has more.

President Biden wants an additional $50 million for the Amazon Fund, which grants money for climate change mitigation. President-elect Trump, who dismisses the effects of global warming, has vowed to end such measures. Brazil's leftist president, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, says he's on track to end deforestation by 2030. As the G20's host, he's pushing world leaders to pass a progressive agenda, including taxing the super rich.

The Biden administration approves anti-poverty measures. Trump will not, nor will his close ally, ultra-libertarian Argentine president Javier Millet, a G20 member and a self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalist known for his brash behavior and rising profile in international rights circles. Carrie Cahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro. Some of President-elect Trump's choices to work in his administration have raised questions, including Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, his pick for attorney general. Gaetz briefly worked as an attorney,

but spent most of his career as a politician. If here's Ryan Lucas reports, Gaetz is a fierce critic of the Justice Department that has more than 100,000 workers, and it includes oversight of the FBI and the DEA. Matt Gaetz, Congressman, The Washington Post, Trump During the campaign, talked about retribution against his perceived political enemies, including folks at the Justice Department. And so putting a partisan political guy like Gaetz at the helm of the department and its enormous powers is adding to concerns that Trump will follow through with that. And here's Ryan Lucas. Until Gates resigned his seat, the House Ethics Committee was investigating

him over allegations of sexual misconduct. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Bella Caroli, renowned coach for many celebrated gymnasts, died on Friday. He was 82 years old. And Pia Shondali-Stuster reports on his life and his impact on gymnastics. Bella Caroli rose to international fame as a gymnastics coach while in his native Romania, training gymnasts including Nadia Comanić, who scored the first perfect 10 at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. Corolli and his wife Marta defected to America in 1981, where they mentored several American young gymnasts including Mary Lou Retton.

Corolli spoke with NPR in 2012 about what he thought it took to achieve in an important area of gymnastics. Good 80% of the vault is still physical and another percentage of the 20-25% is mental. He was criticized for what some said were harsh training techniques and the famed Corolli Ranch became the center of a sexual abuse scandal that later came to roil the sport. Chandelis Duster, NPR News. scandal that later came to roil the sport. Chandelice Duster, NPR News. At the weekend box office, the big-budget star-driven action comedy, Red One, took the tough spot with an estimated $34 million in ticket sales. The Christmas-themed movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans cost over $200 million

to produce. And while that ratio would normally be considered a flop, this movie is an Amazon NGM Studios release with the luxury of playing the long game rather than relying solely on global box office receipts. Amazon has some 250 million worldwide subscribers. In second place, the superhero movie Venom, The Last Dance, with $7 million. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News.