NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-29-2024 9AM EST

Episode Date: November 29, 2024

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JANINE HERBST Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herbst. Congress returns next week for a three-week lame duck session with some must-pass legislation on their plate. NPR's Deidre Walsh reports on talks about a spending deal to avoid a government shutdown. DEIDRE WALSH Congress is coming back after the holiday recess with one major order of business, reaching a bipartisan agreement before federal agencies run out of money on December 20. Top leaders are negotiating another short-term bill that continues the current spending levels

through sometime in early 2025 to give the Trump-Vance administration time to get in place. Congressional leaders also plan to approve disaster assistance for states impacted by hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. But the amount is likely to be less than the nearly 100 billion requested by President Biden. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News, The Capitol. R.R. Russia's defense minister is in the North Korean capital today for talks on military cooperation. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports the U.S., South Korea, and Ukraine say North Korean

troops deployed to Russia are already in combat against Ukrainian forces. Defense Minister Andrei Belusov said his talks with his hosts would strengthen the two countries' defense cooperation. He praised a bilateral treaty with a mutual defense clause signed in June saying it would help to stabilize Northeast Asia and create a new Eurasian security system Belusov's North Korean counterpart no Guangchao said that strengthening what he called combat friendship is a top priority Moscow and Pyongyang have stopped denying the deployment of North Korean troops, but they're not confirming it either South Korea meanwhile scrambled fighter jets after Russian and Chinese military planes briefly entered South Korea's air defense identification

zone. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. It's Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. NPR's Alina Seljuk says there will be a lot of deals but... Deals are not good enough for a lot of shoppers I talk to who say prices are too high to begin with and any discount is simply not enough. But then you have this weird calendar thing. Thanksgiving this year is quite late in November, so there are actually five fewer shopping days till Christmas. Which means less time for retailers to sell you what they want to sell you, which has some experts predicting maybe rolling sales that stores might drop prices just to clear those shelves. AMT, here's Alina Seljuk reporting.

After more than five years of reconstruction work following a devastating fire, the centuries-old Notre Dame Cathedral showed its new self to the world today. Rebuilt soaring ceilings in the former gray and dark stone, which is now creamy and light erasing somber memories of the 2019 fire. French President Emmanuel Macron and the Archbishop of Paris visited the cathedral today, broadcasting live images of the iconic structure. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. In the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, at least 43 people were arrested, several dozen injured in clashes between anti-government demonstrators and police overnight.

As MPR's Charles Maynes reports, the protests were triggered by a government decision to suspend talks to join the European Union. Police fired rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons at several thousand protesters gathered outside the parliament in the capital Tbilisi. Public anger was directed at the ruling Georgia Dream Party after it announced it was freezing EU accession talks until 2028. That decision came just hours after a European parliament resolution rejecting the results of Georgia's October parliamentary elections, a vote that saw Georgia Dream take 54% of all ballots despite opposition claims of voter fraud. The election had been seen as a referendum on whether Georgia's future

lay with Europe or Russia after the government embraced seemingly pro-Russian policies that have undermined Georgia's once promising EU-Canada sea bid. Charles Maynes, NPR News. Sweden is formally asking China to explain the recent rupture of two data cables in the Baltic seabed. It happened in an area where a China flagged vessel was sighted. The two cables, one from Finland to Germany, the other from Lithuania to Sweden,

were both damaged in Swedish waters last week. Swedish officials are asking China to move that ship so the damaged cables can be inspected. An investigation is underway to find those responsible. I'm Janene Herbst and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.