NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-29-2024 11PM EST

Episode Date: November 30, 2024

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Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dwahleesah Kautau. Polls are now closed in Ireland's parliamentary election. NPR's Al-Khassab reports one exit poll suggests a narrow lead for Sinn Fein, a party with links to IRA militants. The exit poll in Ireland puts Sinn Fein, a left-wing party which used to be the political wing of the Irish Republican army, slightly ahead of the two traditional parties, Finnegan and Fianna Fáil. The exit poll was the first real indication of how Irish citizens voted.

Sinn Fein hailed the results of the poll, which, if correct, put it ahead of the two parties that have governed Ireland, alone or in coalitions, for over a century. The exit poll reflects first preference votes only and comes with a margin of error. It can take up to several days for final results. Fatima Al-Khassab, NPR News, Dublin. The FBI is continuing to investigate bomb threats connected to several of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks, as NPR's Julianna Kim reports.

Among those targeted by bomb threats were Elise Stefanik, who president-elect Donald Trump picked to be the next ambassador to the United Nations, as well as Lee Zeldin, Trump's pick for the next head of the Environmental Protection Agency. According to the FBI, some of Trump's nominees were also the target of swatting attacks, which is when someone makes a hoax call about a crime occurring with the intention of drawing a massive law enforcement presence to a certain location. It's a fear tactic that originated in the gaming community around 15 years ago. Democratic members of Congress from Connecticut also reported receiving bomb threats against their homes on Thanksgiving.

Juliana Kim, NPR News. Research around holiday stress consistently show that even while people are feeling joyful, they are also feeling increased anxiety. More on this from NPR's Katya Riddle. One recent study showed that nearly 90% of people were experiencing increased anxiety in the holiday season about things like not having enough money, missing loved ones, and anticipating family conflict. Ken Duckworth is the Chief Medical Officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He says to address mental well-being during this season, go back to the basics. Get some sleep, exercise, eat well, don't drink,

or don't drink too much, right? So this is kind of the what your mother told you was actually right. Duckworth also issued this reminder as a public service announcement. No family is perfect. Katie Arrettel in PR News. A French landmark that has previously attracted as many as 13 million visitors a year is about to reopen to the public. A fire in the attic of the iconic landmark in 2019 resulted in the collapse of the 19th century spire at the Notre Dame, closing the cathedral for renovations over the last five years. This is NPR.

Disney Princess Moana is setting box office records with a couple of Wicked Witches close behind. And Piers Baumandela reports. Moana 2 and Wicked Part 1 were originally scheduled to open head-to-head the day before Thanksgiving. But since they'd be competing for much the same audience, mostly women and girls, Wicked moved up one weekend to have that crowd to itself. I know about popular Now Moana's joined the fray, and it looks as if she will easily sail past the previous record holder, Frozen 2, for the five-day weekend.

Partly that's because Moana is playing to such a diverse crowd, more than a third Hispanic and another third Black and Asian, that its audience overlaps less with Wicked's than expected. Moana! Don't mind me. Industry estimates have Moana earning $175 million this weekend while Wicked, which had already collected $113 million last weekend, is expected to add another $105 million by Sunday.

Bob Mandelo, NPR News. The cryptocurrency businessman who last week purchased a banana duct tape to a wall for the price of $6.2 million has apparently eaten the artwork. Buyer Justin Sun posted a video of himself eating the banana writing on X, To be honest, for a banana with such a backstory, the taste is naturally different from an ordinary one. He writes, I could discern a hint of what Big Mike bananas from 100 years ago might have tasted like, the conceptual piece called Comedian was first designed in 2019 by Italian artist Maurizio

Catalan. I'm Dua Lisa Icautel in PR News in New York.