NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-18-2024 5AM EST

Episode Date: November 18, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingly. President Biden is giving Ukraine the go-ahead to use long-range weapons supplied by the U.S. against targets inside Russia. NPR's Julianna Kim says it's something Kyiv has long been urging Biden to do. 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. Julianna Kim, NPR News. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov is accusing Biden of seeking to escalate the war between Russia and Ukraine, which began with Russia's invasion more than two and a half years ago. President Biden is in Brazil for this week's

G-20 summit, where Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East, and climate change are expected to get a lot of attention. The summit in Rio de Janeiro runs through tomorrow. At least two of President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for his next administration have been criticized by Democratic senators as well as some Republicans. Here's NPR's Mara Liason. Tulsi Gabbard is a former Democratic House member and a Putin apologist. Matt Gaetz is a former Republican House member who's been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for drug abuse and having sex with underage women.

There's been some pushback from Republican senators like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, but some other Republican senators say presidents should be able to have who they want running executive branch agencies. Republicans will have a 53 to 47 majority in the new Senate so they can afford to lose three votes. Mara Eliason, NPR News. Donald Trump is nominating energy company executive Chris Wright to serve as energy secretary.

Wright is CEO of Liberty Energy based in Colorado and is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development as well as fracking. Wright has called for expanded fossil fuel production worldwide as a way to lift more people out of poverty. He also opposes the Biden administration's suspension of natural gas export approvals. Boeing says it's given layoff notices to more than 400 employees who belong to the professional aerospace labor union. The company says the layoffs are part of thousands of planned job cuts following a recent strike by union machinists. This is NPR News from Washington. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says an outbreak of E. coli in at least 18 states has been traced to bags of organic carrots. They were sold by Grimway Farms at grocery chains that included Trader Joe's and Wegman's.

More than three dozen people became sick. One person died. The CDC says most of those who became ill lived in New York, Minnesota, and Washington State, as well as California and Oregon. SpaceX says it will try again tomorrow to carry out the next test launch of its Starship rocket from its facility in Texas. That rocket is nearly 400 feet tall and has been on five previous test flights. Jerry Clayton with Texas Public Radio has more. SpaceX says the launch window will begin at 4 p.m. Central Time Tuesday at the facility in far south Texas at Boca Chica.

The test flight will focus on ship and booster capabilities, as well as the chopsticks the company is using to catch its boosters. The main spacecraft will continue towards a planned splashdown in the Indian Ocean after its suborbital flight. The sixth flight test was originally scheduled for Monday, but was pushed forward a day. SpaceX did not reveal the reason for the change in test launch dates. I'm Jerry Clayton in San Antonio. NASA hopes to use the Starship rocket to carry astronauts to the Moon as part of its Artemis program. Union employees at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas remain on strike. They walked off the job at the hotel casino near the Vegas strip on Friday seeking a new contract with higher pay.

I'm Dave Mattingly, NPR News in Washington.