NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-18-2024 7PM EST

Episode Date: November 19, 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 in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The controversy around President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be attorney general, former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, does not appear to be dying down. An attorney representing two women who testified before a House committee revealing what his

clients told the panel about Gaetz allegedly attending sex and drug parties. Attorney Joel Leppard says one of the women testified she witnessed Gates having sex with a minor. MPR's Ryan Lucas reports, as a result, pressure is mounting for the House Ethics Committee to release its findings. Pressure has been building on that front for a long time now, and that's despite the fact

that Gates resigned from Congress after Trump picked him for attorney general, which effectively ended the committee's investigation. Now, Leppard is speaking out at this point, he says, to protect his clients. He says these investigations have taken a toll on them. Uh, he said his clients are not politically

minded people, but they're worried about their own wellbeing and about potentially having to testify about this again. MPR's Ryan Lucas, the committee is due to meet Wednesday. President-elect Donald Trump has made another cabinet nomination today. Trump on his social media platform saying he's chosen former US representative and reality TV star

Sean Duffy to be his transportation secretary. Currently a host with Fox Business News, the 53-year-old Duffy starred in the MTV series The Real World and Road Rules. He was also a former Wisconsin representative. He'll oversee a department that handles roads, bridges, and rail lines with a budget of $110 billion. A big day for residents of Asheville, North Carolina. They finally have clean water again. The city went weeks without any water and then several more weeks without drinking water after Hurricane Helene hit in late September. Blue Ridge Public Radio's Laura Hackett has more.

It's been over 50 days since Asheville residents have had clean drinking water. After Helene caused severe damage to its water system and completely muddied the reservoir, the city struggled to put the pieces back together. They have used everything from chemicals to industrial curtains to clean up the water. And now, finally, the wait is over. Dina Larson is one of the many Asheville residents who is rejoicing over the news that clean water has returned. There are definitely tears of happiness much sooner than anyone expected. Larson says she hopes that water will help Asheville

enter its next chapter of recovery and lead to the city's economy bouncing back. For NPR News, I'm Laura Hackett in Asheville, North Carolina. Discount airline Spirit is filing for federal bankruptcy protection. Spirit, currently the largest U.S. budget airline, had sought to merge with JetBlue. That deal was blocked by regulators. Spirit has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces another billion dollars in debt payments over the next year. Spirit says it intends to continue operating normally during the bankruptcy and customers

will be able to continue to book flights without interruption. On Wall Street today, the Dow is down 55 points. You're listening to NPR. An Israeli airstrike slammed into a densely populated area in Lebanon's capital that is home to the UN headquarters, parliament, the prime minister's office and several embassies. That's according to Lebanon's state-run national news agency, which says the missiles killed at least five people and wounded two dozen others. Since September, Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vying to eliminate

the militant group Hezbollah. Efforts are underway to stop Alex Jones Info Wars Company from being sold to the Onion. The satirical news outlet was the winning bidder at the bankruptcy auction of Jones Media Company last week. Present Paris, Tobias Smith reports the losing bidder says the auction was rigged against them. The company was forced into bankruptcy after Sandy Hook families won massive damages

for Jones' false and defamatory claims that the school shooting never happened. First United American companies, the group Jones calls the Good Guys, offered $3.5 million in cash for Jones Media Company. The Onion and the Sandy Hook families offered about half that upfront, $1.7 million in cash, plus a promise of future revenues that the families expect to recover from their lawsuit. But the losing bidders say that violates auction rules and amounts to collusion. The trustee overseeing the sale has rejected what he calls the baseless allegation.

A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered a hearing on the sale. Tovia Smith, NPR News. Fans of the much beloved Golden Girls actor Betty White will have a new way to honor her memory. The U.S. Postal Service says it's releasing a Betty White stamp. NPR News.