NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-01-2024 11AM EST

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

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This is Eric Glass. On This American Life, we specialize in compelling stories from everyday life. I was like, wow, you literally just died and came back. And the first thing you ask is, do you need any money? Real life stories, really good ones, in your podcast feed, This American Life. Live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Noor Rahm. President-elect Donald Trump has named one of his fiercest loyalists, Cash Patel, to lead the FBI.

NPR's Marlaiason reports. Patel was a national security official in Trump's first term. He's devoted to Trump's stated goal of revenge and retribution against the government agencies Trump feels targeted him unfairly, including the FBI. Patel has threatened to go after what he calls conspirators in the media and government and he's published a quote deep state target list of individuals he wants to fire. If confirmed, he'd be a leader in Trump's effort to radically reshape the federal government. It's not clear yet how Republican senators feel about Patel.

In order to get him appointed, Trump would have to fire the current FBI director, Christopher Wray, who Trump appointed, but whose 10-year term doesn't expire until 2027. Mara Liason, NPR News. Trump also announced yesterday he'll nominate Charles Kushner to be his ambassador to France. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News.

NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News.

NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. NPR News. China is protesting a visit to Hawaii by Taiwan's new president. Lai Chengdu arrived in Honolulu yesterday to kick off a tour of the Pacific.

This is Lai's first time in Hawaii since taking office in May. Jackie Young from Hawaii Public Radio has more. Lai was greeted at the airport by Governor Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, and Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan. Governor Green gave Lai a warm aloha, noting that Hawaii and Taiwan have shared values of resilience and collaboration. The president attended an emergency management briefing and later a banquet with supporters. Lai plans to meet with military and community leaders in Honolulu before departing for a

week-long Pacific tour to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau, three of 12 countries that have formal ties with Taiwan. Lai also will stop over in the territory of Guam. For NPR News, I'm Jackie Young in Honolulu. Syrian and Russian jets are intensifying strikes against rebel-held areas of northern Syria. Meanwhile, insurgents are still in control of Aleppo. They enter the city Friday in a surprise attack after 11 years of war against the Syrian government. NPR's Ruth Sherlock has more.

Well, we're seeing rebel militias inside Aleppo. This is the historic mercantile city in Syria's north, its second most populous city. There are now images and videos of rebel fighters inside the ancient citadel, tearing down pictures of President Bashar al-Assad and celebrating this sudden collapse of regime lines in the area. NPR's Ruth Sherlock reporting.

This is NPR News in Washington. The union representing Volkswagen workers says it will go on a warning strike across Germany tomorrow. Labor and management are at odds over Volkswagen's efforts to cut costs with layoffs, pay cuts, and possible plant closures. Public health experts say the map of the HIV AIDS crisis is changing and today on World AIDS Day they're celebrating progress in sub-Saharan Africa. But as NPR's Gabriella Emanuel reports, the picture elsewhere is not as rosy. New infections in sub-Saharan Africa have dropped by almost 60 percent since 2010.

But if you remove sub-Saharan Africa from the data, the rest of the world has seen no change in the rate of new HIV infections. Mary May is with UNAIDS. Now we need to focus on why are we not seeing the declines outside of sub-Saharan Africa. One difference, she says, is that in sub-Saharan Africa, the general population is impacted by the disease. Elsewhere, HIV infections are concentrated in marginalized populations, like sex workers, prisoners, and the LGBT community. It can be harder for them to get medical care. Gabriella Emanuel, NPR News.

President Biden leaves today for Angola to fulfill a promise to visit Africa before he leaves office. The trip is to highlight U.S. investment in the continent, including a railway project that links a port on the Atlantic Ocean with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This will facilitate the transport of critical minerals such as copper and cobalt to Angola for shipment overseas. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.