NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-25-2024 3AM EST

Episode Date: November 25, 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 caused some controversy when he said earlier this month he'll nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be his secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has in the past taken a number of controversial positions on health issues.

Now attention is being given to other Trump picks. NPR's Peng Huang tells us more about Trump's selection of Dr. Marty McCary as food and drug commissioner. He's published books criticizing the high cost of health care, medical errors, lack of transparency in medicine, and he's talked about some of those as a medical contributor on Fox News. Recently, just in September, he joined Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at a roundtable in Congress on health and nutrition where he criticized how food in the U.S. is grown and processed.

That's NPR's Ping Huang. President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, has an ambitious economic agenda that includes big tariffs and tax cuts. One group could stand in his way, though, bond investors. NPR's Rafael Nam has that story. Many investors in Wall Street were excited when Trump was elected. Not in bond markets, however. Trump's promise of sweeping tariffs would likely increase the cost of all kinds of imports,

from shoes to phones, and that could lead to higher inflation. And he's also promising to cut taxes, which could make the country's fiscal deficits even bigger. Those concerns have led to a major sell-off in bond markets. And that's not good news for regular Americans. All kinds of interest rates are influenced by the bond markets, from mortgages to car payments. So when bonds fall, those loans can become much more expensive. Rafael Nunn, NPR News.

President Biden participates in his final holiday turkey pardon at the White House later today. And as NPR's Amy Held tells us, the puns will fly at the 77th annual event. Political preening and Thanksgiving theater are once again on full display. This year, it's a lame duck president pardoning the birds for nothing foul. They're picked by the chair of the National Turkey Federation. That's John Zimmerman, who tells Minnesota Public Radio he auditioned them on his farm using a podium.

The pretty ones that don't ruffle feathers get a leg up. He picked the winner plus a backup bird to drive by minivan to D.C. Then they won't have to worry about winding up fresh or frozen. Winging their retirement, they'll live out their days at Farm America in Minnesota. Today's White House tradition dates back decades, ironically promoting the turkey industry with a paltry paltry pardon, while tens of millions get gobbled up each turkey day.

Amy Held, NPR News. As negotiators continue their efforts to reach a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the militant group fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles at central and northern Israel on Sunday. At least seven people were injured. It was one of Hezbollah's heaviest barrages in months. This is NPR News. Authorities in China are increasing their vigilance after a string of mass public attacks that have left dozens of people dead. NPR's John Ruich reports. In the past couple of weeks alone, a man who police said was upset about his divorce drove a car through a crowd killing 35 people

and a college student stabbed eight people to death on campus when he failed to graduate. There have been other high-profile incidents in recent months too, raising concerns that so-called revenge against society attacks are on the rise as the economy sputters. Several government agencies from the top on down have met to discuss public safety in recent days, though reports in state media don't mention the attacks specifically. The Ministry of Justice called

for detailed investigations of conflicts linked to things like inheritance, wage arrears, and marriages. In the city of Wuxi, where the deadly campus attack happened, Communist Party leaders called for better school safety and probes into social risks and hidden dangers. John Ruch, NPR News, Shanghai. Left-center challenger Yemen Dou Orsi has won Uruguay's runoff election for president this weekend.

He quickly announced that his goal is to unite the entire country behind him. Orsi defeated Alvaro Delgado from the conservative union This weekend he quickly announced that his goal is to unite the entire country behind him. Orsi defeated Alvaro Delgado from the conservative union that has governed the country for the past five years. Almost 90 percent of eligible voters turned out for that election. It was a big weekend at North American box offices. The debut of Wicked and Gladiator 2 broke the fall doldrums with the combined $270 million in ticket sales.

Wicked was the big winner bringing in $164.2 million in global sales, and the sequel to Ridley Scott's 2000 Best Picture-winning original managed a haul of $55.5 million in domestic sales. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.