NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-20-2024 9AM EST

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

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What's good y'all? It's Gene Dembe from Code Switch. On Code Switch, we are deeply curious about race and identity and the way it shows up in the news headlines or in our personal lives. With the wide range of voices in front of and behind the mic, we see how race shows up all over the place. So come rock with us on the Code Switch podcast, only from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. The House Ethics Committee is set to meet today. It is not clear if members will vote to release the report on Matt Gaetz.

He has been accused of sex trafficking, an allegation he's denied. Gaetz resigned from Congress last week after President-elect Donald Trump chose him to be the next Attorney General. NPR's Gerald Snyder reports now some senators are weighing in on the matter. The House ethics investigation into Gates is looming over the Senate, particularly over the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on Gates' nomination. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is in line to lead the panel when the GOP takes a majority in January. If they want a speedy consideration of this nomination, we've got to have as much transparency as we can have.

The current Democratic Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin of Illinois, says Gates's decision to step down from Congress last week was designed to stop the public release of the report. The House Ethics Committee has been looking into accusations including illicit drug use and sex trafficking, allegedly involving a 17-year-old. Gates denies any wrongdoing. Trial Snider, NPR News. Donald Trump has tapped Wall Street executive and billionaire investor Howard Lutnick to

be Commerce Secretary. There had been disputes among Trump allies, some of whom wanted Lutnick to be the next Treasury Secretary. But NPR's Maria Aspin says in this role, Lutnick will be able to work on one of Trump's main campaign promises. Commerce also has this big role to play in the economy, and Lutnick has been very enthusiastic about Trump's promises to impose sweeping tariffs on a whole range of imports. Trump really campaigned on this, and Lutnick has embraced it. At that rally last month, he even said he wants the country's economy to go back to when, he said, it was great, in 1900. Danielle Pletka And Piers Maria Aspin reporting. Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to Gaza yesterday. He's vowing that Hamas won't return to power in the Palestinian enclave. Netanyahu also offered a substantial reward for the return of any hostage held by the militant group. And B.R. Scott Newman reports from Tel Aviv. B.R. Scott Newman, B.R. Netanyahu spoke from an area in Gaza controlled by the military.

He said Israel would pay $5 million for the return of each Israeli hostage still being held in Gaza. But that offer also came with a threat. Whoever harms a hostage, his blood is on his head, Netanyahu warned. We will chase you down, he said. 251 hostages were seized in last year's Hamas-led attack on Israel. 101 remain in Gaza, but about a third of those are now believed dead. Netanyahu has faced intense pressure to strike a deal to free the hostages and end the war

that has killed nearly 44,000 Palestinians, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Scott Newman, NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is NPR. This is Transiv. This is NPR. This is Transgender Day of Remembrance. Activists use the day to increase public awareness about trans people and the issues they face, especially that of violence. The Williams Institute at UCLA Law estimates more than one and a half million people in the U.S. identify as transgender.

The Institute estimates that transgender people are four times more likely to be victims of violence, including sexual assault. The private company SpaceX has completed another test flight of the largest rocket ever built. NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports it went mostly according to plan. Starship lifted off smoothly from its pad in south Texas. Three, two, one!

Its super-heavy booster carried it into orbit. The booster was supposed to fly back to the launch tower, but safety issues caused it to divert to the Gulf of Mexico where it splashed down. Starship itself flew partway around the world and briefly relit one of its rocket engines, a crucial test before it can fully fly in space. It then landed precisely as planned in the southern Indian Ocean. Both Elon Musk and President-elect Trump were there to watch the launch. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News.

The co-creator of the computer language BASIC has died in New Hampshire, according to his wife. Thomas Kurtz was 96. He set out to create a simple programming language computer students could use. He helped develop BASIC in the mid-1960s. Among other innovations, Kurtz designed ways for more than one person to use a computer at a time. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News, from Washington.