NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-28-2024 11AM EST

Episode Date: November 28, 2024

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Here and Now Anytime is a podcast with fresh takes on the biggest stories of the day and also a little something you weren't expecting from a news show. One thing we're wondering lately is Black Friday a ripoff? Peel back the marketing blitz and what do you have left? That's coming up on Here and Now Anytime, wherever you listen to podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. The Israeli military says it conducted an airstrike in Lebanon today. It's one of several attacks that could threaten to derail a ceasefire that took effect there yesterday as NPR's Lauren Frayer reports from Beirut.

Social media footage shows smoke rising from farmland near Lebanon's Mediterranean coastal city of Sidon. The Israeli military says it targeted a facility there used by Hezbollah to store mid-range rockets. It also says it fired separately on suspects in vehicles in villages near the Israel-Lebanon border. It accuses them of violating the ceasefire. But Lebanese officials say those are evacuees returning home

in their cars, not fighters. Several people, including journalists, have been wounded by Israeli tank or gunfire. The ceasefire gives Israel and Hezbollah 60 days to withdraw from their current positions. So Israeli troops, Hezbollah fighters, Lebanese soldiers, and UN peacekeepers may all be on the move in the same border area.

And it's tense. Lauren Freyer and PR News Beirut. Millions of Americans are on the move today on what could be the busiest Thanksgiving holiday ever for air travel. And there are new rules in place about how airlines treat customers. But it's not clear if those rules will survive the incoming Trump administration. And here's Joel Rose has more. There's been a real push at the Department of Transportation with Secretary Pete Buttigieg at the helm to pass new rules that are aimed at protecting consumers, particularly after the big winter holiday meltdown back in 2022.

The department issued a record fine to Southwest Airlines over that incident. And since then, it has pushed for other rules about how airlines have to treat their customers. For example, requiring airlines to automatically provide cash refunds instead of travel vouchers for flights that are canceled or seriously delayed. And here's Joel Rose. Some airlines have sued to block the new rules and there's still a shortage of air traffic controllers so bad in some areas that it's caused delays. Today officially kicks off the busiest shopping period of the year as many retailers stretch their Black Friday sales to begin earlier in

the week. Empires Alina Seljuk reports customers are already spending more than last year's record. So far in November online shoppers alone have spent more than nine and a half percent more this year compared to last year. That's according to Adobe Analytics which tracks online transactions. Shoppers say they're feeling their budgets squeezed by higher expenses, including on health and car insurance. But many are drawn by the lure of discounts during the long Black Friday weekend. Retailers are predicting huge turnout, a record number of people shopping. And of those people, surveys find a growing group of shoppers saying

they plan to spend more this year than they did last year hunting for deals and bargains. Alina Seluk, NPR News. Wall Street is closed today, and observance of the Thanksgiving holiday reopens tomorrow for a shortened day of trading. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Some Amazon workers around the world plan to strike or hold protests tomorrow, Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the busiest shopping weekend of the year. Organizers of the action, Uni Global Union, a Swiss-based labor federation, and the grassroots activist group Progressive International say Amazon pursues profits at the cost of workers,

the environment, and democracy. Amazon defends its treatment of workers, saying it's proud of offering competitive pay, benefits, and a safe working environment. It's the fifth year of action. In years past, protesters marched outside Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' house in New York. Votes are being counted in the southern African country of Namibia following one of the most competitive elections since independence from apartheid in South Africa 34 years ago. The country could be set to elect its first woman president, as NPR's Jewel Bright reports.

The governing South West Africa's People's Organization Party, or SWAPO, has ruled Namibia since independence, but are facing growing criticism for high unemployment, inequality, and alleged corruption. The party's candidate is 72-year-old Vice President Nitimbo Nadi Naithwa, who is seeking to become the country's first female president. But she faces a challenge from the opposition popular democratic movement and their candidate, McHenry Vinnani. Half of the country's 3 million people are eligible to vote, and a candidate must secure more than 50 percent of the votes to win to avoid a runoff between the top two candidates.

Jo O'Briott, NPR News Lagos. U.S. futures contracts are trading higher at this hour. Both the Dow and S&P 500 futures are up about two-tenths of a percent. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.