NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-26-2024 11AM EST

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

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Take a moment to unwind and give thanks this week with NPR's All Songs Considered, as listeners share their favorite songs of gratitude. This song speaks to me and the basic thing is everybody turns, turns and lands in the place that they need to be. Download new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday wherever you get podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Israeli warplanes continue to strike Hezbollah targets in Beirut, even as officials from Lebanon and Israel say they're close to a ceasefire.

NPR's Lauren Freyer reports from Beirut. Both countries' cabinets are meeting today and tomorrow to discuss details. Lebanese lawmaker Simon Abiramia tells NPR his government has approved what he says would be an initial two-month ceasefire. It calls for Israeli troops to withdraw from Lebanon and for Hezbollah to pull its fighters and weapons north of the Litani River, about 20 miles from the Israeli border. The Lebanese army would move in alongside United Nations peacekeepers. An international committee would also be set up to monitor implementation of the ceasefire.

Israel had asked for the right to preemptively strike Hezbollah if it suspects militants of violating this agreement. But Abiramia says that provision is not part of the deal he's seen. Lauren Frayer and PR, Beirut. President-elect Donald Trump says he will impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods and an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods coming into the U.S. He says it's to persuade these countries to stop undocumented migrants and illegal drugs from entering the U.S. The 2024 presidential election saw dramatic shifts among some demographic groups

toward Donald Trump. But NPR's Domenico Montanaro reports, it remains a question whether Republicans can hold the coalition together after Trump's election. Young voters, Latinos and Asian American voters in key states swung 20 points or more in Trump's direction. These are all groups that have tended to vote Democratic over the years. So are they now Republican voters? Or did they simply shift because they felt prices were too high and they blamed the incumbent party? How they judged Trump's job performance and whether another Republican can fire up white voters without college degrees to the same extent is going to be key in the next four years. Domenico Montanaro, NPR News, Washington.

Retailer Walmart is rolling back efforts to address generations of disparity experienced by historically marginalized people in the U.S. The nation's largest employer has decided to end significant diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and policies. NPR's Christian Wright reports. Walmart is making sweeping changes to its DEI efforts. It's ending its Center for Racial Equity, started in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd.

Walmart established the center by making a five-year commitment to address the root causes of systemic disparities among black people. Walmart will also no longer consider race and gender in making decisions on supplier contracts. And the retailer is ending participation in the Human Rights Campaign's index that measures the workplace inclusion of LGBTQ-plus employees. Walmart's rollback of DEI promises follows similar changes by a growing list of big corporations, including Lowe's, Ford, and John Deere.

Kristen Wright, NPR News. You're listening to NPR. President-elect Trump's designated border czar Tom Homan is going to visit Eagle Pass, Texas today. He'll be joined by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Homan supports Trump's call for mass deportations of undocumented migrants. Russia has carried out a wave of drone attacks across Ukraine, with Ukrainian authorities calling it the largest coordinated air assault since the start of the war.

The attacks come as Russian forces continue to make significant territorial gains. NPR's Charles Maines reports from Moscow. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 188 drones and four cruise missiles, the latest attack on the civilian power grid ahead of the winter months. Russia's defense ministry acknowledged it launched attacks on 135 regions of Ukraine, but said it struck military air bases, troops and technical hardware. Meanwhile, independent analysts report significant Russian advances in Kherson, Donetsk and other areas along the current front line.

The Russian advance comes amid signs of escalation from both sides. In recent days, Ukraine has used its access to more powerful Western weapons to strike deeper into Russia. In turn, the Kremlin struck Ukraine with a new hypersonic weapon it claims is invincible to Western air defenses. Charles Maines, NPR News, Moscow. The site Dictionary.com has picked its word of the year. It is demure. The word rocketed to fame this past summer after a TikTok influencer used it in videos to describe how she dressed herself for work. Influencer Jules LeBron popularized the phrase, very demure, very mindful. Dictionary.com says the use of the word demure helps reflect the stories

that we tell about ourselves. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News from Washington.