NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-30-2024 10AM EST

Episode Date: November 30, 2024

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J.S. O'BRIEN Support for this podcast and the following message come from Autograph Collection Hotels, with over 300 independent hotels around the world, each exactly like nothing else. Autograph Collection is part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio of hotel brands. Find the unforgettable at autographcollection.com. G.J. O'BRIEN Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Gile Snyder.

In Syria, rebel militias opposing President Bashar al-Assad have made their most significant advance in years, seizing a string of towns and villages in the north of the country. And NPR's Ruth Sherlock reports a vinegar to Aleppo, one of Syria's most populous cities. After years of stalemate, in just 48 hours, Syrian opposition militias appear to have changed the calculation in the Syrian civil war. President Assad had largely won the conflict with the help of Russia and Iran-backed militias. The regime controlled most of the country. But in this surprise surge, Syrian rebels have now taken parts of Syria's second most populous city,

the historic mercantile Aleppo. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Monitoring Group says rebels are in western Aleppo and videos shared online showed armed men celebrating in the city squares. Israeli airstrikes against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Syria appear to have weakened the regime's control in the area. Syrian state media says Russia is providing the Syrian military with air support. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News. The Israeli military says it's killed a Palestinian accused of involvement in the October 7th attack. Gaza's health ministry says at least three workers for the aid group World Central Kitchen were killed in the airstrike on a vehicle in the southern city of Conyounas.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was at Mar-a-Lago last night. He joined President-elect Donald Trump for dinner. Trudeau flew to Florida after holding an emergency meeting Wednesday with the leaders of Canada's 10 provinces after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Canadian products. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said afterward that Canada needed to present a united front. We agreed that we need to be smart, strong, and united in meeting this challenge. We spoke principally about the border and the Canada-U.S. trade relationship. Trump said Monday that he would impose a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and

Mexico until they clamped down on drugs and migrants crossing the border. With Black Friday over, it's now Small Business Saturday when holiday shoppers are encouraged to support locally owned businesses, as SanPierre's Andrea Schue reports. American Express first celebrated Small Business Saturday in 2010, and it's been co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration since 2011 as a day of recognition for independent retailers, restaurants and other small businesses. On this day last year, Shoppers spent an estimated $17 billion at such establishments. Small businesses are a backbone of the economy.

According to the SBA, they've accounted for two-thirds of net new jobs created since 2000 and employ 45% of private sector workers in the U.S. A record 20 million small business applications have been filed over the past four years, the highest on record. Andrea Hsu, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News. The first big snowstorm to hit the Great Lakes region this season is threatening to dump heavy lake effect snow through Monday. Forecasters say as much as three feet could fall south of Buffalo, where Erie County Executive Mark Ballencarz is warning of treacherous driving conditions.

It won't qualify for a blizzard because of the winds, but when the winds do pick up, and they will pick up to over 30 miles an hour at times, you will have whiteouts, you will have blizzard-like conditions. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a disaster emergency for the region. The Buffalo Bills calling for volunteers in case they're needed to shovel snow ahead of tomorrow night's game. The world's largest Gothic cathedral getting its Oregon back after a fire five years ago, but it's not Notre Dame in Paris,

and Pierce Center for Vinasco has more. ["The Great Organ"] That's the Great Organ at St. John the Divine in New York City, being played about a decade ago. It's a 1910 Aeolian Skinner Opus 150A, with more than 8,000 pipes. It was damaged when a fire in the basement filled those pipes with smoke the day before the more destructive Notre Dame fire in April 2019 Father Patrick Malloy is the Dean of st. John the Divine. He says the congregation is thrilled that it's back

There's a different kind of sound that's generated by an organ that is somehow really authentic and really real. We at the Cathedral care about what's real. The organ is returning in time for the first Sunday of Advent. Jennifer Vanasco, NPR News, New York. And I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News.