NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-28-2024 6AM EST

Episode Date: November 28, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. In Lebanon, it's day two of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, but yesterday was marred by violence, as two journalists say they were injured by Israeli gunfire. From Beirut, Jawad Rizwala has more. Displaced people returned to their villages, even near the border with Israel, like Chiam, which endured fierce battles until the last day of fighting. A group of journalists documenting their return reported that they encountered Israeli soldiers still in the town, and despite their cameras being visible, they said the soldiers fired at them from a nearby villa.

Two of them were wounded, including an Associated Press freelancer who was hit in the leg. The Israeli military said soldiers had, quote, identified suspects in southern Lebanon and fired towards them. AP told NPR they were grateful their freelancer was okay and journalists must be able to safely operate in Lebanon as they cover the conflict. For NPR News, I'm Juad Razalla in Beirut. China has released three Americans held for years in exchange for a Chinese intelligence officer who was serving a 20-year sentence in the U.S. Mark Sweedan, Kai Li, and John Leung traveled back to the U.S. yesterday after months of diplomatic moves to free them. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to them as they headed home, telling them he was glad they're

in good health. Snow and rain are in the forecast for some Thanksgiving travelers. Rain is hitting Washington, D.C., and New York City today, and heavy snow is expected in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. The National Weather Service says later today the system moves into Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, where road crews were out getting ready. Paul Merrill is with the Maine Department of Transportation. The last thing we want on Thanksgiving Day is to have people end up being the most thankful for the tow truck driver or record to show up. He says they expect more than 250 workers will be out treating roads today.

And today officially kicks off the busiest shopping period of the year, as many retailers have stretched their Black Friday sales to start earlier in the week. In pier's 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. While Strait is closed today and observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, you're listening to NPR News. Sean Diddy Combs will remain in jail until his trial in May. A federal judge denied the Media Mogul's bail attempt for a third time. NPR's Isabella Gomez Cerementino has more. Sean Diddy Combs will not be allowed to go home under a $50 million bail package proposed

by his attorneys earlier this month. Combs, who was indicted on charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy, has denied all sexual assault allegations against him. But during a hearing last week, the prosecution alleged that there was a risk Combs would behave violently if removed from custody. Prosecutors pointed to a surveillance video of Combs kicking his former girlfriend, Cassandra Ventura, as proof that Combs is a, quote, danger to the community. Combs' attorneys denied these claims and requested that Combs be confined to a New York City

apartment with 24-7 security. U.S. Judge Arun Subramanian ruled against Combs' release. Isabella Gomez-Armiento, NPR News. The Australian Senate is debating a social media ban for children under 16 after the House overwhelmingly supported the age restriction. The Senate is likely to pass it today, which is Parliament's last session for the year. This bill would make social media companies liable for fines for failure to prevent young children from having accounts. This is many child welfare and mental health advocates voiced concern about unintended

consequences of children using social media. If the legislation becomes law, social media platforms would have a year to implement the ban before the fines would take effect. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News.