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

Episode Date: November 30, 2024

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Noura Rahm Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noura Rahm. AAA estimates that more than 70 million Americans are hitting the road this weekend. With some metro areas especially crowded, NPR's Kimilla Domenoski reports. Kimilla Domenoski Boston, New York, LA, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. will likely have twice as many cars on roads as on a typical day, that's according to the transportation data company, Enrix. The worst times for returning traffic are typically Saturday and Sunday evening,

although in some cities, Monday will also be a mess as returning road trippers and commuters alike squeeze onto highways. Whenever you're traveling, the National Safety Council reminds drivers to wear a seatbelt and don't drive impaired. Holidays are associated with an increase in drunk driving fatalities. Camila Dominovski, NPR News. Travel is being complicated in New York by a major snowstorm which threatens to bury towns along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Winter conditions could continue next week in the Great Lakes, Plains, and Midwest regions. Gaza's Health Ministry says an Israeli airstrike and a vehicle in Gaza has killed

at least five people, including aid workers, with the U.S.-based humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen. As NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv, Israel's military says it was targeting a man who worked for the kitchen and took part in the October 7th attack on Israel last year. The Gaza Health Ministry says the airstrike in Chanyunis killed at least three workers for World Central Kitchen, a group working to alleviate hunger and severe food shortages in Gaza. The Israeli military says the man targeted, worked for the aid group and took part in the deadly Hamas-led October 7th attack on the Kibbutz community of Nir Oz, where nearly a fourth of the residents was killed or taken hostage.

Israel called on World Central Kitchen to investigate its local employees in Gaza. World Central Kitchen did not immediately respond to NPR's requests for comment. Earlier this year, an Israeli strike killed seven of the aid group's workers in Gaza. Israel called it a misidentification error. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Russian warplanes reportedly have bombed the Islamist rebel forces, who've taken over much of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city. The BBC's Lena Sinjab has more.

This offensive started on Wednesday by the jihadist rebels sweeping through several towns and cities, including reaching most parts of Aleppo. So it was expected that government forces and Russians to start some sort of defense, and that's what happened overnight with Russian airstrikes against rebel forces, and this time in the city of Aleppo. This is a sign that both the government and the Russians have moved to push the rebels back. The BBC's Lynna Sinjab reporting. You're listening to NPR News in Washington. Last night was the second straight night of clashes between police and anti-government

demonstrators in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. NPR's Charles Maynes reports authorities detained more than 100 demonstrators who took to the streets of the capital, Tbilisi, to protest a government decision to suspend talks on joining the European Union. The ruling Georgia Dream Party suspended the EU talks in response to a European Parliament resolution rejecting the results of Georgia's October parliamentary elections. That vote saw Georgia Dream take about 54 percent of all ballots amid opposition claims of voter fraud.

The election had been seen as a choice between a future with Europe or Russia after the government passed a series of seemingly pro-Russian policies. Georgia's pro-Western president, Salome Zarabishvili, is calling for police to stand with the protesters. Instead, both accused the other of violence, even as witness videos repeatedly captured security forces attacking demonstrators. Charles Maynes, NPR News. Malaysia and Thailand are experiencing their worst flooding in decades caused by heavier than expected monsoon rains. Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season officially comes to a close today. Scientists say it was a busy season with 11 hurricanes. Barrel was the earliest hurricane ever, forming in the month of June. The hurricanes caused deaths and billions of dollars in damage. Scientists say there were more hurricanes this year because of unusually warm temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.