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

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former prosecutor Cash Patel to serve as the next director of the FBI. Patel has been an outspoken critic of the Bureau and has called for shutting down the agency's Washington, D.C. headquarters and firing its top leadership. If confirmed, Patel would replace current FBI Director Christopher Wray, who has three years remaining in his 10-year term. Wray would have to resign or be fired to create a vacancy. President Biden is working on a long to-do list before he

leaves Washington in January, and PR artist Tamra Keith has more. President-elect Donald Trump has said he intends to roll back a lot of President Biden's signature legislative achievements. So the Biden team is trying to use its remaining time to make that hard to do by obligating funds, signing contracts, and pushing out grants. They're also working to draw attention to popular provisions, like the $2,000 cap on prescription drug costs for seniors that takes effect in 2025. Pardons and commutations are a power of the presidency,

often exercised at the very end. Biden has used his power to send a signal about inequality in the nation's criminal code, and he could do something like that again. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Thousands of people in Beirut gathered to pay their respects to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israel in September. Reporter Lemah Al-Aryan reports the gathering was held just days after a ceasefire took

effect between Israel and Lebanon. Sobbing in the rubble, thousands of Hezbollah supporters came to the site where their leader of 30 years, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in September. Israel said Nasrallah had been operating from the headquarters and quote, advancing terrorist activities. But his supporters see him as a hero for resisting Israeli aggression and standing with the Palestinians. Mourners gathered around the giant crater where Nasrallah's body was recovered in a bunker, 14 floors underground. He was everything in my life, says Hadi Alhaj.

Nasrallah has only been temporarily buried, as Hezbollah feared Israel would strike the funeral. Now that there's a ceasefire, the group says they're preparing for a public funeral. For NPR News, I'm Lama Al-Ariyan in Beirut. Weather alerts have been issued across five states in the Great Lakes region, including New York and Pennsylvania. Christopher Scallon is the mayor of Buffalo. Christopher Scallon, Mayor of Buffalo, New York, Pennsylvania While we do want people to go out and enjoy Small Business Saturday, support our small businesses, the emphasis has to be on safety while you're out doing it. Before you head out, make sure you check the weather. An emergency declaration has been declared

for New York. This is NPR. Next month, a NASA probe will fly closer to the sun than any spacecraft in history. As Joe Palko reports, it's the crowning event of a mission to explore the sun's atmosphere. There are many questions about the sun's atmosphere that the Parker Solar Probe is designed to study. In particular, it will investigate how the solar wind is generated and why the sun's atmosphere is hotter than its surface. To gather that information, the probe has to get very close to the Sun, and that's a challenge. The spacecraft must withstand temperatures of around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

To make this close encounter, the spacecraft has been using flybys of Venus to adjust its trajectory. Earlier this year, it made its seventh and final Venus flyby, setting it on a course that will take it approximately 3.9 million miles from the Sun. The close encounter will occur on December 24th. For NPR News, I'm Joe Palka. Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes from heavier than expected monsoon rains across parts of Malaysia and Thailand. than expected monsoon rains across parts of Malaysia and Thailand. Officials say at least three people have died and nearly 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate to temporary shelters. Videos posted on social media show cars that are submerged and houses inundated by floodwaters.

The National Disaster Management Agency has been directed to mobilize all federal and state agencies to ensure the safety of flood victims throughout the monsoon season. This is NPR News in Washington.