NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-25-2024 2PM EST

Episode Date: November 25, 2024

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Hey, it's Ayesha Harris from Pop Culture Happy Hour. If you love NPR podcasts, you'll want the new NPR Plus podcast bundle. Enjoy an all-you-can-eat selection of NPR Plus podcasts with sponsor-free listening and bonus episodes. Plus, you'll be supporting public radio. Check it out at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Federal prosecutors have filed a motion to dismiss the 2020 election subversion case against President-elect Trump. Just a day after this year's election, Jack Smith, the special counsel investigating the

case, began to unwind the federal cases against Trump, the first for clinging to power in 2020, events that resulted in the storming of the U.S. Capitol, the first for clinging to power in 2020, events that resulted in the storming of the U.S. Capitol, the second for hoarding classified documents and obstructing FBI efforts to retrieve them. The move is in line with longstanding Justice Department policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted or tried on criminal charges because it would violate the Constitution and interfere with the working of the executive branch. Over the summer, the U.S. Supreme Court said the Constitution gave the president broad immunity, putting the cases against Trump in peril.

Israel is expected to approve a U.S. broker deal tomorrow for a ceasefire in Lebanon, NPR's Danielle Lestrin reports from Tel Aviv. An Israeli official told NPR Israel's security cabinet is meeting Tuesday to discuss the Lebanon ceasefire deal and is expected to approve it. The official was not authorized to discuss government deliberations and spoke anonymously. A White House spokesperson said the US was continuing to work to allow civilians on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border to safely return to their homes. Lebanon's deputy parliament speaker Elias Boussaab said officials are close to a ceasefire, but that nothing is guaranteed.

Israel's military has tightened restrictions on Israeli schools and gatherings near the Lebanese border, anticipating intensified Hezbollah rocket fire. Both Hezbollah and Israel escalated attacks this weekend. Danielle Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Macy says an accounting employee hid tens of millions of dollars in expenses at the department store chain. This forced the company to delay its quarterly financial report, which is widely watched for clues about consumer spending around the holidays. Here's NPR's Alina Selur. It's one of the most unusual announcements Macy's has made. The company says it has

discovered that a single employee who oversaw expenses from small package delivery had intentionally hid huge sums spent on those expenses. It was up to $154 million spent over the past three years. Macy says the person is no longer employed by them. The company claims nobody else was involved, and it did not say why the employee intentionally made these errors. This means Macy's is delaying its financial forecast for the all-important holiday season. The chain is trying to turn around its slumping sales

with a plan that involves closing 150 underperforming stores. Alina Seluk, NPR News. Rally today in Pakistan's capital over the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Earlier today, a large number of Khan supporters reportedly were detained. From Washington, this is NPR News. A search is underway for at least 16 people after their tourist boat sank in the Red Sea.

Egyptian authorities say more than two dozen individuals were rescued after officials received a distress call before dawn this morning. Some of the people still unaccounted for include foreigners. A community choir in western Colorado is doing both musical and political work to sing in harmony. Here's NPR's Chloe Veltman. The 40 or so members of the North Fork Community Choir in Paonia come from all over the political spectrum. Stephanie Hellickson is the group's artistic director. We're in a blue-leaning town in a red-leaning county in the red-leaning half of a blue state.

Hellickson says in order to sing well together, they set their differences aside at their weekly rehearsals. Yet the music itself sometimes draws the differences out. A recent concert featuring Broadway hits made some singers uncomfortable because it included a song with lyrics they said were culturally offensive. Others complained about lyrics in a different song that contradicted their religious views. The group dealt with these matters by issuing disclaimers and changing some lyrics. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. This morning a Minnesota duo got the reprieve of a lifetime.

I hereby pardon Peach M. Blossom. President Biden bestowing the annual Turkey pardon, an event that he notes marks the official start of the holiday season in Washington. It's also my last time to speak here as your president during this season and give thanks and gratitude. So let me say to you, it's been the honor of my life. I'm forever grateful. This is NPR.