NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-23-2024 3AM 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 has made his pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration. Johns Hopkins surgeon Marty McCary is his choice for FDA commissioner, and Piers Wilstone has more. McCary is a surgical oncologist who worked with the first Trump administration

and had been floated as a likely candidate for the top job at FDA. A frequent guest on Fox News, McCary has authored several books and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He gained visibility for his writing and research on the high cost of health care and medical errors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he also emerged as a vocal critic of certain aspects of the federal government's public health response, including vaccine mandates. More recently, he has indicated his support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, and his focus on addressing what he calls the chronic disease epidemic in the U.S.

Will Stone, NPR News. President-elect Trump is promising to deport millions of migrants during his upcoming term. The potential sweep is supported by most Texans, but there's growing concern that deportations will cripple that state's $106 billion dollar construction industry. Julian Aguila reports from El Paso. Veronica Carrasco, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, has worked as a painter for a home remodeling company in Mesquite, Texas for 12 years. It makes me frustrated and worried. I am a single mom. I have three children. Some economists and industry leaders are worried too.

The housing would disappear. I think they'd lose half their labor. That's Stan Merrick, the CEO of Merrick, a Houston-based commercial and residential construction giant. In 2022, more than a half million immigrants worked in the Texas construction industry, according to a report by the American Immigration Council, almost 60 percent of that workforce was undocumented. For NPR News, I'm Julian Aguilar in El Paso. Hundreds of workers at North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport could undertake

a 24-hour strike next week during the high point of Thanksgiving travel. Dorothy Griffin is one of the workers who clean and sanitize planes and provide wheelchair escorts. She says workers are fed up with poor working conditions and low pay so she voted yes for the walkout. We're not treated fairly, we're not paid fairly, we're not respected in our jobs of what we do and we just want higher you know more wages and a little respect. The airport is expecting to handle more than a million passengers over the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday. Israeli airstrikes in northeastern Lebanon killed the director of the region's largest hospital on Friday. That's according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Six other people were also killed in the strike on the director's home. And early Saturday, a series of Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut destroyed at least one building there. It's unclear right now How many people may have been killed or injured in that attack? You're listening to NPR news Bitcoin hit a new high on Friday closing at slightly more than Bitcoin hit a new high on Friday, closing at slightly more than $99,000. It's now more than 40% higher in just the past two weeks since the presidential election. The incoming Trump administration is expected to be more friendly toward cryptocurrency

and similar investments. For decades, fluoride has been added to drinking water in many communities to promote dental health, but Florida's Surgeon General Joseph Latipo wants that to stop. From member station WUSS, Stephanie Columbini reports that Latipo has issued guidance advising against adding fluoride to public water supplies. Latipo cites controversial recent studies that suggest exposure to high levels of fluoride is associated with lower IQ in kids. He spoke at a news conference streamed by local TV station. FOX 13. It is public health malpractice to continue adding

fluoride to community water systems. Florida Dental Association President Jeff Otley says those studies refer to levels of fluoride twice as high as what the US recommends. He supports federal guidance for adding fluoride to water as an effective, safe and affordable

method to prevent tooth decay across all age groups. he supports federal guidance for adding fluoride to water. As an effective, safe, and affordable method to prevent tooth decay across all age groups. President-elect Trump's pick for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he wants to see fluoride removed from drinking water nationally. For NPR News, I'm Stephanie Columbini in Tampa. Angel Yen has a two-shot lead at the halfway point of the LPGA Tour Championship underway this weekend in Naples, Florida.

She leads South Koreans Hae Jin Choi and Niren Ahn by two strokes. While Nelly Korda is four strokes off the pace, she started the day eight strokes back. The winner gets $4 million. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.