NPR News Now - NPR News: 11-30-2024 5PM EST

Episode Date: November 30, 2024

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Hamas has released a video of an Israeli-American hostage. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports the footage shows the 20-year-old pleading with President-elect Donald Trump to secure his release. It's the first time Edan, Alexander's family, has heard from him since he was captured in the Hamas attack on southern Israel, October 2023. In the video, Alexander addresses Trump as the incoming president of the United States, a sign that the video was filmed recently.

Alexander's mother, Yael, addressed a crowd shortly after the video was made public. She said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called her, telling her that the conditions for a ceasefire deal in Gaza that would release the remaining hostages was, quote, ripe. Stand by your promise to me, she says to Netanyahu. We are all waiting on you to make a courageous decision. There are still 101 hostages remaining in Gaza, according to Israel. At least a third of them are thought to be dead. Kat Lonsdorf, MPR News, Haifa. The White House says the hostage video is a cruel reminder of Hamas' terror against citizens of multiple countries, including the United States. In a statement, President Biden said his administration will continue to work around the clock to secure the release

of Americans held in captivity through diplomatic efforts. President-elect Donald Trump continues to face criticism over his proposal to impose sweeping tariffs against Canada and Mexico. NPR's Ron Elving reports the duties could increase the price of goods from two of America's biggest trading partners. By and large, they've been friendly neighbors and major trading partners, top trading partners

out there with China. But in Trump's formulation, they've been bad neighbors because deadly drugs and too many immigrants have crossed the border in recent years. Trump's been beating this drum at least since 2015. That's NPR's Ron Elving reporting. Today is Small Business Saturday. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports it's a day when people are encouraged to support locally owned businesses. 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 percent 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. This is NPR. The endangered Ethiopian wolf is a carnivore that hunts its prey. But NPR's R.A. Daniel reports it may also be a pollinator. Fewer than 500 Ethiopian wolves remain in the wild.

To conserve them, it helps to understand how they interact with their ecosystem. There had been reports that the wolves occasionally feed on the nectar from a plant called the red-hot poker. There had been reports that the wolves occasionally feed on the nectar from a plant called the Red Hot Poker. A research group followed half a dozen wolves over several days and photographed the animals lapping up the nectar, suggesting they might be transferring pollen from one plant to the next as they feed. Sandra Lai is senior scientist with the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program. We still would need to confirm, but to have a wolf pollinating flowers is a new thing. She hopes the findings will inform the group's efforts to protect the wolf by preventing

further habitat loss and raising the animal's profile. For NPR News, I'm Ari Daniel. Parts of the Great Lakes region are plowing out as a major storm continues to bring heavy snow to the area. Forecasters say towns along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario could continue to see accumulations of three inches an hour. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a disaster emergency in some parts of the state. The New York State Thruway says interstates in Pennsylvania

across the New York state line were impassable this morning, and some stretches remain closed to commercial trucks. This is NPR News in Washington.