NPR News Now: November 23, 2024, 7 AM EST
Hosted by NPR, this episode of "NPR News Now" delivers the latest news in five minutes, updated hourly. Below is a detailed summary capturing all key points, discussions, insights, and conclusions from the November 23, 2024, 7 AM EST episode.
1. President-Elect Donald Trump's Appointment of Scott Turner to HUD
Timestamp: [00:19] - [00:36]
Giles Snyder reported that President-Elect Donald Trump has nominated former Texas State Representative Scott Turner to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Turner, who served nine years in the NFL before venturing into politics, previously worked on economic development during Trump's first term. In 2019, Trump appointed Turner to lead a council focused on revitalizing distressed communities by directing billions in private investment to opportunity zones—areas grappling with high unemployment and deteriorating housing. While the initiative received bipartisan praise, critics argued that wealthy investors benefiting from tax breaks were prioritized over local residents. Under Trump's administration, HUD faced significant budget cuts, which Congress opposed. Looking ahead, Trump's Project 2025 aims to further constrain housing aid and reduce HUD's influence.
2. Trump's Cabinet Nominations and Legal Challenges
Timestamp: [01:18] - [01:48]
Giles Snyder continued with news on Trump's recent cabinet nominations, highlighting Scott Besant, a billionaire hedge fund manager, appointed as Treasury Secretary, and Lori Chavez de Remer, the outgoing Oregon Republican Congresswoman, selected as Labor Secretary. In a separate development, NPR's Windsor Johnston reported that a New York City judge has indefinitely postponed President Trump's sentencing in his criminal hush money case. Convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in May, Trump’s legal team is pushing to dismiss the case entirely. The judge granted a deadline of December 2nd for filing a motion to overturn the conviction, which the Manhattan District Attorney's office intends to oppose. The jury found Trump guilty of creating false business records to conceal a hush money payment to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election.
3. Amazon's $4 Billion Investment in AI Startup Anthropic
Timestamp: [02:15] - [03:13]
Giles Snyder introduced a significant development in the tech industry: Amazon is investing an additional $4 billion into the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. NPR's Bobby Allen elaborated on this move amidst the fierce competition in Silicon Valley to dominate the AI landscape. Anthropic's language model, Claude, competes directly with OpenAI's ChatGPT. The AI sector sees major players like Microsoft supporting OpenAI, Amazon backing Anthropic, while Elon Musk's Xai and Google also vie for prominence in what Bobby Allen described as an "AI standoff." The influx of capital into AI ventures is driven by the quest to develop the next ChatGPT—AI-powered products with broad commercial appeal. Significant investments enable AI startups to access the necessary compute power required to run complex AI systems. Concurrently, Washington regulators are scrutinizing leading AI companies, a focus that may lessen once Trump assumes office in January.
4. NATO's Engagement with President-Elect Trump and International Tensions
Timestamp: [03:13] - [04:08]
Giles Snyder reported that NATO Secretary General Mark Ruta met with President-Elect Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday. This meeting precedes emergency talks scheduled for Tuesday between NATO and Ukraine following Russia's use of an experimental hypersonic ballistic missile to attack the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed the attack was retaliation for Ukraine's deployment of US and British long-range missiles targeting locations within Russia. Additionally, negotiators at the UN Climate Talks in Azerbaijan faced intense pressure to finalize a deal on funding for developing nations to adapt to climate change. The talks, initially set to conclude on Sunday, extended beyond the scheduled time to address these critical funding issues.
5. Kendrick Lamar's Stellar Year and New Album Release
Timestamp: [04:08] - [04:55]
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento of NPR highlighted the remarkable achievements of rapper Kendrick Lamar over the past year. In May, Lamar unofficially won an ongoing rap battle against Drake, and his diss track "Not Like Us" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart twice. Lamar is also set to headline the next year's Super Bowl halftime show and has earned over half a dozen Grammy nominations earlier in the month. Continuing his momentum, Kendrick Lamar is releasing his sixth album, "gnx," unexpectedly. This release follows two critically acclaimed records: 2022's "Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers" and 2017's "damn," the latter of which won a Pulitzer Prize for Music. The new album features collaborations with artists like SZA and Data Barrera, and production from renowned figures such as Jack Antonoff and Kamasi Washington.
This summary encapsulates the key developments and discussions presented in the November 23, 2024, episode of "NPR News Now." For real-time updates and more detailed coverage, listeners are encouraged to tune into NPR's broadcasts.