NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-01-2024 5PM 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 New York City, I'm Dua-Helisa Icautau. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped a Lebanese businessman and the father-in-law of Trump's daughter, Tiffany, to join his administration as senior advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.

And Piers Luke Garrett reports. Mossad Boulos campaigned for Trump in the swing state of Michigan, meeting with Arab American communities in particular. His efforts proved successful. President-elect Trump ultimately won more support than Vice President Harris in Dearborn, Michigan, home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the country. In 2020, Dearborn overwhelmingly supported President Biden. Trump made the announcement about Boulos on his social media site, Truth Social, saying Boulos was instrumental in building a new coalition with Arab American

communities. The president-elect also said, quote, Masad is a dealmaker and an unwavering supporter of peace in the Middle East, end quote. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. The official news agency in Syria reports that President Bashar al-Assad is vowing to defeat rebels who days ago took over that country's second largest city. NPR's Lauren Freire reports the fighting is the latest chapter in a conflict between Syrian government forces and insurgents that began 13 years ago. 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 frontlines

with rebels gaining territory and called on all of Syria's stakeholders to, quote, spare bloodshed and focus on a political solution. Lauren Freire and PR News Beirut. Negotiations for a United Nations treaty to cut down on plastic pollution ended in Busan, South Korea, without an agreement. But NPR's Michael Copley reports countries are planning one more round of talks to try to hash out a deal. Hundreds of millions of tons of plastic waste end up in rivers and oceans every year. But countries haven't been able to agree on a solution. Plastics made from oil and gas in the plastics industry, along with countries that are big

producers of fossil fuels, say the talks need to focus on waste management, like recycling. But scientists and environmentalists say that isn't enough. They say solving the problem will also require limits on plastic manufacturing. So the amount of waste is manageable, and they want the treaty to regulate harmful chemicals that are used in plastic. Another round of negotiations is expected sometime next year. Michael Copley, NPR News. A lot of people are going to the movies this holiday weekend weekend and a record number of them are watching Moana 2. Walt Disney's

animation sequels hit $221 million in ticket sales from Wednesday through Sunday. This is NPR News. For a fourth night, protesters are gathered near the Parliament in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Upset that the government suspended talks on joining the European Union for another four years. That was announced on Thursday and immediately led to violent clashes between demonstrators and police who used tear gas and water cannons.

The Interior Ministry said at least 100 people were arrested late Saturday, and an unknown number of police were injured. The ruling Georgian Dream Party is being accused by critics of being authoritarian and anti-Western. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says just 14% of older adults in the U.S. get the recommended amount of exercise, and Piers Ping Huang has more. Every week, U.S. adults should be getting at least two and a half hours of moderate exercise and two days of strength training.

That's guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rita Enders, 84 years old, goes to a fitness class twice a week at a senior center in Towson, Maryland. Use it or lose it. If you don't keep moving, everything starts to stiffen up. All you have to do is sit down for 15 minutes and try to get up and then you're like, oh. But a survey from CDC shows that Enders is in the minority.

More than 85% of those 65 and older are not getting the recommended amount of exercise to reap its substantial benefits. There are almost 60 million U.S. adults that are 65 and older. Regular exercise would help them keep healthy and mobile and reduce the risk of falls. Ping Huang, NPR News. Former My Chemical Romance drummer Bob Breyer has died at the age of 44. This is NPR News. I'm Dwali Sai Khao Tao.