NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-24-2024 9PM EST

Episode Date: November 25, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. After a weekend whirl of announcements, plans for the incoming presidential cabinet are now complete. NPR's Amy Held reports President-elect Donald Trump named nine picks on Friday. Trump's announcement Saturday of longtime aide and ally Brooke Rollins as Agriculture Secretary rounds out his selections of executive branch department heads. The announcement Saturday of longtime aid and ally Brooke Rollins as Agriculture Secretary rounds out his selections of executive branch department heads. The Republican-controlled Senate begins the confirmation process early next year.

Trump's choices, charged with the nation's health, defense, education, and more, share some common threads. Fierce loyalists, some with tons of TV experience, but not much related to the top jobs. Trump campaigned on promises to shake up government bureaucracy. His transition so far is behind on its paperwork. Still unsigned, documents that would show which interest groups or wealthy donors may be contributing, and allow his cabinet picks to get FBI background checks.

Amy Held and PR News. Supporters of so-called school choice put ballot initiatives before voters in three states this month. Kentucky Public Radio's Sylvia Goodman reports 65% of voters said no to sending tax dollars to private or charter schools. Kentucky teacher unions and rural voters were worried the measure could lead to the defunding

of public schools, especially where private schools are rare. And in urban areas, some voters say they want to fix the existing system before investing in a new one. But University of Arkansas Education Policy Professor Patrick Wolff says he expects private school choice advocacy to continue. It seems like it's inevitable, right? because right now you're a school choice doughnut hole. So you're sort of an island, an island of no choice in a sea of school choice.

Nearly every state bordering Kentucky has some way to help parents pay for private school tuition. For NPR News, I'm Sylvia Goodman in Louisville, Kentucky. Contentious negotiations at the climate conference in Azerbaijan ended this weekend with wealthy For not happy. Under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, rich countries that mostly created climate change by burning fossil fuels agreed to pay developing nations that are disproportionately suffering the consequences. India's representative called the 300 billion dollars a year by 2035 a paltry sum considering the damage. Johnni Raina said her country was not even allowed to make a statement before the decision was finalized. We are extremely disappointed with this incident. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to pull the U.S. from the U.N. climate accord for a second time.

Jeff Brady, NPR News. This is NPR. There's new research on the benefits that come when child care workers are paid better. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports it comes from a program that aims to pay child care workers' wages comparable to public school teachers. Through a tax hike on the wealthy, the District of Columbia has been supplementing the wages of early childhood educators. On average, child care teachers got a pay raise of $10,000 last

year. And that's not all. Owen Shoshay, a researcher at Mathematica, found the program led to a nearly 7% increase in child care employment. More teachers mean more slots, more children served, and the quality of care has improved as turnover has fallen and experienced teachers have stayed on the job. They're a considerable benefit to society. Chauchet acknowledges the cost of the program is high at $54 million last year, but working with an economist, he found the return on investment was also high at 23 percent. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

Forecasters say a major storm in parts of the western U.S. could complicate travel leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for California's Sierra Nevada through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected in higher elevations. Another storm system is expected to bring rain from parts of the southeast into the northeast later this week. Meanwhile, parts of the Seattle area are still without power after a major storm hit Washington State last week. This is NPR. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend,

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