NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-28-2024 4AM EST

Episode Date: November 28, 2024

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Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dua-hli-Sai Kautau. It is day two of a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. And at this hour, things are relatively quiet on both sides of the border. But to the south, war rages on between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports that winter is setting in there, the rains have started, and Israeli airstrikes are killing people daily. Our producer there, Anas Baba, he's in central Gaza right now, and he spoke to some people for us.

Here's 34-year-old Wala Hanuna. She says she feels forgotten. Hezbollah had originally said that they wouldn't agree to a ceasefire until there was one for Gaza too, and now she worries one will never come for them. Hezbollah had originally said that they wouldn't agree to a ceasefire until there was one for Gaza, too. And now she worries one will never come for them. And Piers Katlansdorf reporting, the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel was brokered by the United States and France. Israeli forces are expected to retreat from Lebanon as long as the Lebanese government keeps Hezbollah out of the south. Today officially kicks off the busiest shopping

period of the year. Many retailers have stretched their Black Friday sales to begin earlier in the week and NPR's Alina Seljuk reports spending has already started beating 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. A new report by the Government Accountability Office finds unpredictable funding from Congress could affect the accuracy of the next national headcount in 2030. As NPR's Hansi Le Wang reports, the results of the 2030 census are set to be used to redistribute political representation and federal funding across the country.

The Government Accountability Office says the Census Bureau has taken steps to better manage its budget. Funding shortfalls ahead of the last national headcount of every person living in the U.S. forced the Bureau to make cuts. It draw plants for researching how to get more accurate tallies in rural and Spanish-speaking communities. Yvonne Jones manages the GAO's audits of 2030 census planning. Our work takes place over more than 10 years because the census begins its preparation for a decennial about 12 years in advance. The Bureau is also facing a growing challenge of fewer people participating in the census,

which guides close to $3 trillion a year in federal funding for public services in local communities. Hansi Luong, NPR News. It's NPR News. In Ukraine, military officials say Russia again launched another large-scale attack, using missiles and drones this morning. The Kyiv Independent reports explosions were reported in the capital as well as the second large city, Kharkiv, Odessa and Rivne. Facebook founder and Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg met with President-elect

Donald Trump and his transition team on Wednesday evening in Florida. A Metta spokesperson confirmed the meeting and according to reporting by the New York Times Maggie Haberman, Zuckerberg did not endorse Trump but she confirmed that over the summer Zuckerberg did praise him calling Trump a badass for raising his fist immediately after a would-be assassin shot him during a rally in Pennsylvania. New research shows parents avoid conversations about the difficult subject of sex and pornography in media, and Piers Kadia Riddle reports. In general, parents are doing a pretty good job of covering important topics with their

kids, but pornography is an exception. Supreet Man is with Common Sense Media. The organization has studied this topic. So parents are talking to their kids about relationships. They're talking to their kids about fake sex. They are talking to their kids about sex generally. But pornography is the one topic that's been a little bit more taboo and has one of the lower responses of parents talking to their kids about.

Mann says these are difficult but necessary conversations. She recommends keeping them brief and to the point to make it easier on parents and kids.