NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-30-2024 4AM EST

Episode Date: November 30, 2024

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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. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm John Stempen. In Syria, a fresh rebel offensive in the country's 13-year-old civil war has spread to the second-largest city of Aleppo. The rebel fighters are said to be in control of more than half of that city, according

to a U.K.-based war monitoring group called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Since pro-democracy protests in 2011, an estimated half million people have been killed in Syria's civil war, and nearly seven million people have fled the country. This year's holiday season is under the long shadow of higher prices. Inflation has been cooling for months now, but people say they are still feeling squeezed after paying their expenses. NPR's Alina Seljuk reports. In a survey by Surkana, a market research firm, almost two-thirds of

shoppers say the higher cost of food and bills, like insurance, has them changing how they shop. People talk about buying fewer gifts, cheaper gifts, or buying off brand stuff, but holiday spending is still expected to grow this year up to three and a half percent. Retailers think shoppers will be drawn by the discounts, But holiday spending is still expected to grow this year, up to 3.5%. Retailers think shoppers will be drawn by the discounts, hoping to save money on deals. And there's another curious element in shopper surveys. More people say they plan to buy gifts for themselves. Some of these shoppers tend to be wealthier, or perhaps people feel like it's good to

treat themselves, especially when something's on sale. Alina Seluk, NPR News. And when the final numbers come in, economists and analysts are expecting record online shopping this Black Friday. Already e-shopping on Thanksgiving Day hit a record high, up nearly 10 percent from last year, according to Market Watchers. Over at a Louisiana shopping mall in New Orleans, Houston resident Farron Kennedy says physical shopping at stores has been a family tradition since she was young.

Me, my mom, my godmother, we always come to the sales after Thanksgiving. We used to just, they used to just do toy stores but as we grow older we just talked about it now we're like in the mall like everyone wants to shop look good so we've moved past the toys. Shoppers in other parts of the country were drawn to steep discounts. One of the deadliest and most costly hurricane seasons ever seen in the Atlantic officially ended on Friday. From Miami, NPR's Greg Allen reports.

Ocean temperatures in the Atlantic were two to three degrees above normal this season. In early July, Hurricane Barrel became a category five storm, the earliest in the season a hurricane had ever grown that intense. In late September, Hurricane Helene left a path of destruction from Florida to North Carolina. More than 200 people died, about half of them in North Carolina from the severe flooding. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton strengthened to a category 5 storm but weakened before making landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast.

A recent study found that because of climate change, hurricanes are now a full category higher than they would have been in earlier decades. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. A French landmark that has previously attracted as many as 13 million visitors a year is about to reopen to the public. The restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris welcomed its first visitors on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigette, were among them. A fire in the attic of the iconic landmark in 2019 resulted in the collapse of the 19th century spire, closing the cathedral for renovations over the past five years.

Research around holiday stress consistently shows that even while people are feeling joyful, they are also feeling increased anxiety. More on this from NPR's Katia 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 wellbeing 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 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. And the first big snowfall of the season has begun to bury towns in New York along Lakes Erie and Ontario during a hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend. Forecasters warned four to six feet of blowing and drifting snow could fall in Watertown and other

areas east of Lake Ontario. I'm John Stimpen, NPR News.