NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-27-2024 8AM EST

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

NPR News: 11-27-2024 8AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Koriva Coleman. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon appears to be holding. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf says the truce went into effect earlier today. It's been an unusually quiet morning on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border, which for nearly 14 months now have been bombarded as Israel and Hezbollah exchanged fire. But Israeli troops are still present in many towns in southern Lebanon, even as displaced residents there are clamoring to return.

The agreement calls for a gradual withdrawal over many weeks. Israel has called on its northern residents to wait to return to their abandoned homes, saying reconstruction is necessary first. Dozens of people were killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon on the eve of the truce in some of the heaviest bombardment in Beirut during the war. Sirens sounded throughout northern Israel late into the night as Hezbollah

fired rockets, most of which were intercepted. Kat Lanzdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Hours after the truce took effect, the Israeli military says its troops opened fire toward some Hezbollah operatives who were returning to southern Lebanon. This does not appear to have prompted any larger action on either side. Meanwhile, fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza continues. No ceasefire there has been reached. There's continued reaction to President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose significant tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.

Trump says he wants to stop undocumented migrants from entering the U.S. and he wants the other countries to from entering the US and he wants the other countries to crack down on illegal drugs, especially fentanyl. But NPR's Brian Mann says a trade war could unravel international cooperation to fight drug traffickers. If this power move by Trump doesn't work, we could see China and Mexico backing away from intelligence sharing and other cooperation with US law enforcement. That could mean less pressure on these gangs that are smuggling fentanyl. NPR's Brian Mann reporting. This is one of the busiest travel days of the year in the U.S. the day before Thanksgiving.

NPR's Joel Rose reports a shortage of air traffic controllers has caused ongoing flight delays at one airport in the Northeast. Hundreds of flights at Newark Liberty International Airport have been delayed in recent weeks because of an ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers in the New York area. Newark is a hub for United Airlines, which caused the disruptions there significant. United says the controller staffing shortages have led to delays and cancellations for more than 340,000 passengers. The Federal Aviation Administration says it is trying to fix the long-standing staffing

problems with Newark's airspace by relocating personnel from Long Island to Philadelphia. But the FAA acknowledges that staffing shortages in Newark may continue through the Thanksgiving holiday and beyond. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. The motoring club AAA predicts a record number of Americans will be traveling by air and automobile over this year's Thanksgiving holiday period. Six million people are expected to crown the nation's airports this week. This is NPR. A Texas lawmaker is seeking to reclassify certain drugs that induce abortions as controlled

substances. The lawmaker wants to make it harder for people to obtain medication abortions. The measure is similar to one passed in Louisiana. Doctors and activists say the medications are also used to treat other life-threatening conditions and limiting them can endanger women's lives. In France, a former student whose lies led to the grisly killing of a middle school teacher testified yesterday in court. Eight men are on trial for the death of a

civics teacher four years ago. And Pierce Eleanor Beardsley reports on a crime that shook France. The student, now 17, broke down as she apologized to the teacher's family in court saying her lies had destroyed his life four years ago Samuel patti showed caricatures of the prophet Muhammad while teaching about secularism The middle schooler missed class that day But claimed the teacher had asked Muslim students to leave the classroom before he showed the pictures

That led her Muslim father to record a video denouncing the teacher. The video spread online among Islamist extremists. A young Chechen radical saw it, drove to the school and beheaded the teacher with a carving knife before he was shot dead by police. The father risks 30 years for targeting the teacher through false information. Eleanor Beardsley in PR News, Paris. The capital of South Korea has been socked by the biggest November snowstorm in decades. Meteorologists say up to 10 inches of snow have fallen on parts of Seoul. At least two people have been killed in the storm.

I'm Korva Kuhlman, NPR News. If you're the kind of person whose idea of a good party conversation starts with, I heard it on NPR, it might be time to take your super fandom seriously. Deck yourself out in style. NPR swag, from t-shirts to ball caps to the almighty NPR tote, are all at 25% off through December 1st at shop.npr.org.