NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-22-2024 11PM EST

Episode Date: November 23, 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, I'm Dale Willman. President-elect Donald Trump announced several more picks for members of his administration today. Among them is Scott Besant, who Trump wants to serve as his Treasury Secretary.

MPR Scott Horsley says if confirmed, Besant will be tasked with pushing major parts of Trump's agenda, including any tax cuts and tariffs. He's one of the President-elect's biggest cheerleaders in the financial world. He runs a hedge fund, the Key Square Group. He also worked for billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, which generated suspicion of him in some Trump quarters, but he's a longtime friend of Vice President-elect JD Vance. In a social media post this evening, Trump described Besson as widely respected as one of the world's foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists. Trump also named several other picks for his

incoming administration. He said he will nominate former NFL player and White House aide Scott Turner to be his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He also said he would nominate Russell Vought to lead the Office of Management and Budget. He held the same position during Trump's first term. Citing financial and security risks, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is directing all Texas state agencies to divest from China. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider says the process is likely to be complicated and could lead to significant financial blowback for the states.

In a letter to agency leaders, Abbott barred, quote, making any new investments of state funds in China and ordered them to sell any assets there at the first available opportunity. Stephen Lewis of Rice University's Baker Institute says that's easier said than done. There isn't the bureaucracy expertise to be able to differentiate what is a Chinese company, what is not a Chinese company, what is an investment, because there's all kinds of joint partnerships, joint ventures. Lewis says such divestment could affect Texas-based

companies, among them Tesla and Texas Instruments. China is the third leading destination for foreign direct investment from Texas after Mexico and Canada. I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston. A second major atmospheric river storm is heading toward northern California at this hour. It could elevate flood risk in areas that have already experienced more than a foot of rain over the past two days. Ezra David Romero of Member Station KQED reports. With rain totals of more than 12 inches across cities like Santa Rosa about an hour north of San Francisco, the storm will likely continue to break records.

National Weather Service meteorologist Dylan Flynn says the storm is going to surpass the rainiest three days in Santa Rosa since record-keeping began. It doesn't compare. This is the first time we've ever seen this much rain, specifically in Sonoma County, since 1902. Authorities are closely watching several rivers in northern California that could overflow their banks. Tree companies across Sonoma County are receiving an influx of calls for down limbs on houses,

crushed cars, and smashed fences. For NPR News, I'm Ezra David Romero in San Francisco. And you're listening to NPR News. The Supreme Court today agreed to hear an appeal of a ruling that found the Universal Service Fund to be unconstitutional. The fund is administered by the Federal Communications Commission and provides eight billion dollars a year in federal funds to subsidize phones and internet services in schools, libraries, and rural areas.

The case is expected to be argued in March. Rapper Kendrick Lamar has had a big year and now he's topping it off with a new album that was released today as NPR's Isabella Gomez-Samienta reports. With rain totals of... Kendrick Lamar is on a roll. In May, he was unofficially crowned the winner of an ongoing rap battle with Drake. His diss track, Not Like Us, topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart not once, but twice. He set the headline next year's Super Bowl halftime show, and earlier this month, he racked up more than half a dozen Grammy nominations. Now, he's dropping his sixth album, GNX, without warning.

["GNX"] The new album follows two highly acclaimed records from Lamar, 2022's Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, and 2017's Damn, which won a Pulitzer Prize for music. GNX features performances from SZA and Deira Barrera. Producers include Jack Cantanoff and Kamasi Washington. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR News. The NBA is suggesting that its players take additional measures to secure their homes after recent burglaries at the homes of three high-profile athletes.

Among those whose homes were burgled are Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and football players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey. The FBI has apparently linked some of those to a group from South America. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.