NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-20-2024 2PM EST

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

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This is Ira Glass with This American Life, each week on our show. We choose a theme, tell different stories on that theme. All right, I'm just going to stop right there. You're listening to an NPR podcast, chances are you know our show. So instead, I'm going to tell you, we've just been on a run of really good shows lately. Some big epic emotional stories, some weird funny stuff too. Download us, This American Life. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Nursing student, Lake and Riley's killer is being ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Count one, malice murder. I'll sentence you to life without the possibility parole. Moments ago in Athens, Georgia, Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard read down the list of charges against Jose Ibarra, some of which were vacated. Ibarra sat quietly as he learned his punishment. Earlier, the judge found him guilty of killing Riley, a Georgia nursing student who authorities say was attacked in February as she was out jogging. Ibarra's case was a focal point of election year politics over immigration overhaul. The Venezuelan national entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to remain in the country

while he pursued his immigration case. President-elect Trump pointed to Riley's killing to argue that the Biden administration is weak on immigration. Meanwhile, many immigrant rights advocates say Trump and GOP allies in Congress have used the case to spread misinformation and disinformation about law-abiding immigrants. President-elect Trump's nominee for attorney general has begun meeting with Senate Republicans. And Piers Dirgell-Walsh reports former Congressman Matt Gaetz returned to Capitol Hill as the House Ethics Committee was set to weigh whether to release the findings of its investigation into his conduct.

Vice President-elect J.D. Vance accompanied Gates to the Capitol. Several Senate Republicans say the former Florida congressman faces an uphill battle for confirmation and must answer questions about his record. Across the Capitol, the House Ethics Panel is expected to consider releasing a report on its investigation of Gates' alleged sex trafficking with a minor. Gates resigned his seat, and the committee traditionally does not publicly divulge details about probes if a member leaves.

The Justice Department also investigated Gates, but never brought charges, and he insists he did nothing wrong. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the FBI director to release all the evidence it collected on Gates. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News, The Capitol. The Danish Navy stopped a Chinese cargo ship in the Baltic Sea after Sweden placed a vessel under investigation for allegedly severing underwater telecom cables connecting a handful

of Northern European countries. Here's NPR's Rob Schmitz. The Danish military says it has stopped the Chinese vessel Epong 3 off Denmark's northeastern coast. According to Swedish investigators, the Epong 3, which sailed from a port in Russia, passed over the underwater Swedish, Lithuanian, and Finnish German telecommunications cables in the Baltic Sea around the time that both had been severed earlier this week. The ship's crew is under investigation for both incidents. This comes a year after another Chinese ship came under investigation for severing a gas line underneath the Baltic Sea that connected Finland to Estonia. Germany's defense minister called

this week's cable severing an act of sabotage. Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Berlin. This is NPR. Berlin. This is NPR. Ford has announced plans to lay off 4,000 employees in the UK and the European Union over the next two plus years. The automaker says most of the job cuts will be in Germany. Ford also plans to scale back staff working hours, part of a broad cost-saving move that the company says it needs to confront economic pressures worldwide. Those pressures include weaker than expected sales of electric vehicles. The Western film Rust is premiering today at a film festival in Poland, three years after the movie Cinematographer was accidentally shot and killed on the movie set in New

Mexico. NPR's Mandolita El Barco has details. Lead actor Alec Baldwin was rehearsing scenes for the indie movie. The prop revolver he held in one scene ended up loaded with a live bullet. The gun went off, killing cinematographer Helena Hutchins. The film's armorer was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, but Baldwin's case was dismissed. In a wrongful death settlement, Hutchins' husband became an executive producer when filming resumed. Joel Sousa, who was wounded in the incident, returned to finish directing. He says he understands why many people are upset with the film's release.

I just wonder if it will be a thing where people just can't ever separate, you know, the movie from what happened during its filming. Hutchins' mother in Ukraine refused to attend the world premiere. Mandolit Dabarko, NPR News. U.S. stocks are trading lower this hour. The Dow is down 111 points at 43,157. It's NPR News.