NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-01-2024 2PM EST

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

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If you're the kind of person whose idea of a good party conversation starts with, I heard it on NPR, it might be time to take your superfandom seriously. Deck yourself out in sale NPR swag from t-shirts to ball caps to the almighty NPR tote, all at 25% off through November 27th at shop.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Aram. President-elect Donald Trump has announced Cash Patel, a longtime critic of the FBI, is his choice to head the agency. Patel once said he'd like to shut down the FBI Hoover Building in Washington and reopen

it as a museum of the deep state. On CNN this morning, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan would not comment on the nomination, but did note the FBI director is not like other jobs in an administration. What makes the FBI director different from most other nominees is they're not just appointed for one term of a president. They're appointed for enough time to last past two terms of a president because they're supposed to be insulated from politics. President Biden scrupulously adhered to that longstanding bipartisan tradition and for

a good reason, because the FBI director should not be subject to the whims of the twos and fros of politics. The current FBI director is Christopher Wray, who had been appointed by Trump and whose term doesn't end until 2027. He would have to quit or be fired for Patel to replace him. The Democratic National Committee plans to vote on a new chair in February. The race just got a little bit more crowded.

NPR's Mar Lyson reports. The next chairman of the Democratic Party has a big job, help lead the party out of the political wilderness after a decisive defeat in the presidential election. Ben Wickler, the chair of the Wisconsin State Democratic Party, has announced that he's running. Wickler says Democrats have to build a big tent and work to reach voters who currently get their news

about Democrats from Republicans. Wickler joins former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, New York State Senator James Skoufis, and Ken Martin, the State Democratic Party chair from Minnesota. More candidates are expected to join the race. The 448 members of the Democratic National Committee are set to vote on their new party chair on February 1st. Mara Eliason, NPR News.

The official news agency in Syria reports President Bashar al-Assad is vowing to defeat rebels who've swept into the city of Aleppo. The fighting is the latest in the conflict between Syrian government forces and insurgents that began 13 years ago. NPR's Lauren Freire reports. These are some of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's first comments since insurgents swept Aleppo. They posed the biggest challenge to his rule in years. Assad vowed to crush what he called terrorists attacking his regime.

Meanwhile, his ally Russia, according to its state media, has stepped up airstrikes in Syria's rebel-held northwest. Syria's civil war started in 2011. Five years later, Assad's forces ousted rebels from Aleppo, but appear to have lost the city now again. The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria cited a dramatic shift on the front lines, with rebels gaining territory, and called on all of Syria's stakeholders to quote, spare bloodshed and focus on a political solution. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, Beirut. This is NPR News in Washington. The UN says it's too dangerous to move humanitarian aid through the main cargo crossing into Gaza and has suspended deliveries.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says armed gangs have attacked aid trucks. Several international humanitarian groups have stopped their efforts in Gaza and warn of the spread of catastrophic hunger. Oscar-winning screenwriter, director, and Broadway libertist Marshall Brickman died on Friday in Manhattan. He was 85. As Jeff London reports, Brickman collaborated with Woody Allen on some of his most famous comedies. Part of Marshall Brickman's skills was making other people look good. The Brazilian-born and Brooklyn-raised writer who played Banjo as a young man was on the staff of Candid Camera and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,

where he created the Karnak, the Magnificent sketches. But it was with Woody Allen that Brickman found fame. The two worked together on Sleeper, Manhattan, and Any Home. I forgot my mantra. He won the pair an Oscar. Brickman directed several films and went on to write the books for the Broadway musicals Jersey Boys and the Addams Family. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. 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 an Angolan port on the Atlantic Ocean with Zambia and the Democratic Republic in Congo. This will facilitate the transport of critical minerals such as copper and cobalt. I'm Noor Rahm, NPR News.