NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-23-2024 5AM EST

Episode Date: November 23, 2024

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Giles Snyder. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. President-elect Donald Trump has announced a flurry of picks for his cabinet and other high-ranking administration polls. Among them is outgoing Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-Dreamer to be Labor's secretary. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports her selection represents a sharp departure from Trump's past. Lori Chavez-Dreamer is a moderate Republican and one of only a few Republicans in Congress who supported the PRO Act.

That's a bill aimed at removing some of the barriers to unionizing. Chavez-Dreamer lost her bid for re-election this month. After the announcement, Sean O'Brien, president of the Teamsters Union, thanked Trump for finding common ground to protect and respect labor in America. The choice is sure to disappoint many in the business community who are counting on the incoming administration to roll back Biden-era labor rules they see as burdensome. In a statement, Trump noted that Chavez de Rima is herself a small businesswoman and said together they'd grow wages and improve

working conditions and bring back manufacturing jobs. Andrea Hsu, NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News.

Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News.

Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. Marc Thiessen, The NPR News. He's a billionaire hedge fund manager and says he supports Trump's plan to impose tariffs. Trump is bringing back Russell Vogt to head the Office of Management and Budget. Here's NPR's Stephen Fowler reporting. Vogt held the same role in Trump's first term in office. The OMB runs the president's budget and supervises executive branch agencies.

So Vogt will play a key role in shaping Trump's second term vision for how the government operates. That likely includes plans Vogt wrote for the conservative policy playbook, Project 2025. In that document, Voet wrote the quote, it is the president's agenda that should matter to the departments and agencies and not their own. Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta. The decision by the Republican-led state board of education in Texas to allow public elementary schools to incorporate Bible lessons is not sitting well with some parents and teachers.

Sharon Vane is among them. As a Jewish parent, of course, we taught our kids our faith at home. And I think no matter your faith, the parents are the ones who need to be teaching those lessons. The state board voted 8 to 7 Friday in favor of using the material developed by the state. It's optional, but school districts using them will get extra funding. A powerful Israeli airstrike shook central Beirut early today. Local media say an eight-story building was destroyed. Lebanon's civil defense says at least 11 people were killed and dozens injured, but that emergency

responders are still searching through the rubble. The strike was Israel's fourth this week in central Beirut. Israel claims Hezbollah militants are the targets of its airstrikes. You're listening to NPR News. And Azerbaijan talks at the COP29 climate meeting are ongoing. The talks were scheduled to end yesterday, but they've gone into overtime as negotiators seek a deal on money for developing nations to adapt to climate change. They're seeking more than a trillion dollars for droughts, floods, rising seas, and extreme

heat. South Korea's government says it will not participate in this weekend's memorial service near Japan's Sato Island Gold Mines. The foreign ministry cites disagreements with Japan over the event. The mines are a source of tension between the two countries over the treatment of Korean forced laborers during World War II. Ties between the two countries have long been complicated by Japan's 35-year rule of the Korean Peninsula. Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high on Friday. NPR's Scott

Horsley reports other major stock indexes also gained ground during the week. After a slow start, stocks rallied to close out the week with the Dow climbing more than 400 points on Friday. Computer chip company Nvidia delivered another blockbuster earnings report powered by strong demand for its

artificial intelligence chips. Some of the nation's biggest retailers offered a more nuanced picture. Walmart reported better than expected profits, while rival Target reported disappointing results. Both companies said shoppers are cautious about buying anything beyond essentials. The National Association of Realtors says home sales picked up a bit last month, although rising mortgage rates could pour cold water on that. Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 index rose about 1.7 percent for the week. Home sales picked up a bit last month, although rising mortgage rates could pour cold water on that. Both the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 index rose about 1.7 percent for the week. The Dow jumped nearly 2 percent.

Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. And I'm Giles Snyder. You're listening to MPR News from Washington.