NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-20-2024 4PM EST

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

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Every weekday, NPR's best political reporters come to you on the NPR Politics Podcast to explain the big news coming out of Washington, the campaign trail and beyond. We don't just want to tell you what happened, we tell you why it matters. Join the NPR Politics Podcast every single afternoon to understand the world through political eyes. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Sirens this morning over Kiev is heard on CNN as the U.S. and other Western embassies decided to close for the day because of the possibility of a significant Russian air attack. President Biden is allowing the U.S. to send anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, though it

previously opposed the use of landmines as part of a larger international trend to halt their deployment worldwide. But in light of the latest developments in Russia's war against Ukraine, including the use of North Korean forces, NPR's Greg Myrie says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced a policy shift today on the sidelines of a security conference in Laos. He said Russia is sending waves of ground troops towards Ukrainian forces and Ukraine needs the landmines to quote slow down that effort. The mines will be for use in eastern Ukraine where Russian forces have been making incremental gains and are placing the greatest pressure on the Ukrainians.

In recent days, President Biden also agreed to let Ukraine fire US ballistic missiles into Russian territory. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Washington. A Venezuela national was convicted today of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. The victim's mother, Allison Phillips, urged the court to throw the book at Jose Ibarra. I'm asking you to please give this monster life without any chance of parole so that he never gets the chance to hurt anyone else ever again.

And the judge did just that, sentenced Ibarra to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally a few years ago and was allowed to remain in the country to pursue his immigration case. Riley's death inflamed the national debate over immigration and border security in an election year. The House Ethics Committee chairman says there's been no agreement so far on whether to release the findings of its investigation of sex trafficking and illicit drug use allegations against former Congressman Matt Gaetz. Gaetz was on Capitol Hill today

to meet with Senate Republicans who will hold a confirmation hearing on his nomination for attorney general. Comcast has announced plans to spin off most of its cable TV channels, including MSNBC, CNBC, and the USA Network. NPR's David Falkenflick reports it's part of the media giant's response to the age of cable cord cutting. One property that won't move is the Bravo Channel, home to a lot of reality programming, and that kind of demonstrates Comcast's strategy, dedicating new sports and big studio properties in service of its streaming and broadcast offerings. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration

appears eager to use the levers of government to ensure more favorable news coverage. This transaction does not appear to require specific antitrust review. Once it does go through, it'll separate Comcast from MSNBC, a network that has long been critical of Trump. Comcast chairman Brian Roberts and his family will retain about a third of all voting shares

but not have any leadership or board role in the new company. David Folk, NPR News. From Washington, this is NPR. Nearly a month after Hurricane Helene hit Florida, the island of Cedar Key is working to bring back its clam industry. Catherine Welch reports Cedar Key supplies nearly every clam served in Florida. Cedar Key's clam industry came into its own in the 1990s. It now sends some 200 million clams to restaurants and grocery stores

around the state and is the backbone of the island's economy, says the University of Florida's Leslie Sturmer. Over 180 growers providing over 95% of the state's crop valued at over 30 million dollars to the economy of this rural coastal community. Clam farmers are now waiting for new baby clams to start the recovery and Sturmer says once they arrive it could take up to 15 months before Cedar Key clams return to the table. For NPR News, I'm Catherine Welch in Orlando. More layoffs at four. The company announced today plans to terminate the jobs of 4,000 workers in the United Kingdom and the European Union over the next two plus years. The automaker says

most of the job cuts will take place 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. Those pressures include weaker than expected sales of electric vehicles. The Dow's closed up 139 points. The S&P was up slightly. The NASDAQ was down 21 points. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.