NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-01-2024 1AM EST

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. The White House is responding to a hostage video of an Israeli American who was kidnapped during the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October of last year. The 20-year-old was seen in the video pleading for President-elect Donald Trump to help secure his release. Ampere's Winsor Johnston. Etan Alexander is an American-Israeli dual citizen serving with the Israeli Defense Force. He was shown alive in a propaganda video released by Hamas on Saturday, prompting fresh pleas

by family for his return. The White House says the hostage video is a cruel reminder of Hamas's terror against citizens of multiple countries, including the United States. The charity World Central Kitchen, meanwhile, says it will again pause its operations in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike hit one of its vehicles this weekend. As Philip Marx reports, the Israeli military says a Hamas militant was traveling in the vehicle at the time, while Gaza's health ministry says at least five people in total, including three aid workers, were killed.

In a statement, World Central Kitchen said its organization was heartbroken, but that it was working with, quote, incomplete information and was urgently seeking more details. The Israeli military said a Hamas operative previously under intelligence surveillance had been in the vehicle and it was only fired upon after credible information indicated he was inside it. The military said the man, Hazmi Qadi, had taken part in the attack on a kibbutz close to Gaza last October, and Israeli authorities were now demanding details from the charity about its hiring practices. World Central Kitchen said it had, quote, no knowledge that

anyone in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7 attacks. For NPR News, I'm Bill M. Marks. President-elect Donald Trump says he'll overhaul a long-standing strategy to deal with homelessness, and that includes a more aggressive approach to getting people off the public streets. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports. Trump has pledged to work with states to ban homeless encampments. The homeless have no right to turn every park and sidewalk into a place for them to squat and do drugs.

He said violators should face arrest unless they agree to mental health and addiction treatment. But Anne Oliva, with the National Alliance to End Homelessness, says forced treatment has been tried and failed and that people do better when they're safely housed first. It provides a base from which folks can address their behavioral health or employment needs. She worries the next administration could cut funding for this kind of housing with services that can keep people off the streets. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington. Donald Trump also says he'll appoint real estate developer Charles Kushner as ambassador to France.

Kushner is the father of Trump's son-in-law. He was convicted in 2005 of making illegal campaign contributions, witness tampering, and tax evasion. He spent two years in federal prison but he was later pardoned by Trump during his first term in office. This is NPR News. President-elect Donald Trump says he intends to nominate loyalist Kash Patel as the next director of the FBI. In a social media post, Trump called Patel a brilliant lawyer. Patel is a regular guest on right-wing podcasts, where he's often threatened to prosecute

Trump's political adversaries. He's also pledged to close the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., and move all of its employees to other offices across the country. Votes are being counted in the Irish election and initial results show it's a tight contest there and Piers Fatima Al-Kassab reports from Dublin. Early tallies and the exit poll show that Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army, is on course to win the popular vote for the second time in a row. But even if it does win the most

votes, it's most likely that the two parties, Finnegail and Fianna Fáil, that have governed Ireland for more than a century, will form a coalition again. Both have ruled out going into a coalition with Sinn Fein. Whatever happens, Sinn Fein has confirmed its place at the top of Irish politics. Full results are not expected until the end of the weekend. Fatima Al-Khassab, NPR News, Dublin. For the third night in a row, thousands of people marched in Georgia's capital city of Tbilisi. They were protesting against an election that they say was rigged in favor of the anti-Western ruling party, which says it will pull out of talks to join the European Union.

The protesters erected barricades, broke windows, and set off fireworks across the city. Georgia media also report that protests were held in other cities across Georgia. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend, or receive money internationally and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the Wyse app today or visit wyse.com, tease and seize apply.