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- [00:00]
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Lakshmi Singh
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Many of the US Senators who will decide whether to confirm or reject President Elect Trump's nominees for his incoming administration are hearing this week from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He has come under heavy criticism from medical groups over controversial public health policy positions, including a possible challenge to polio vaccines. According to a New York Times article today, Trump defended his decision to select Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
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Donald Trump
I don't like mandates. I'm not a big mandate person. So, you know, I was against mandates. Mostly Democrat governors did the mandates and they did a very poor thing. You know, retrospect, they made a big mistake.
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Lakshmi Singh
Trump at Mar a Lago. He had just announced a commitment by SoftBank CEO to invest $100 billion over four years in the US economy. Police in Madison, Wisconsin, are investigating a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School. In a brief Facebook post, the department says, quote, multiple injuries have been reported and that it remains an active and ongoing investigation. Abundant Life Christian School was founded in 1978 and according to its website, serves 200 families in a, quote, Christ focused context for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. In other news, sales of electric vehicles went up by around 10% in November, according to Cox Automotive. Analysts and dealers say some shoppers are trying to lock in savings from tax credits while they can. Here's NPR's Camila Dominoski.
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Alex Lawrence
EV sales have gone up but not spiked as much as you might think. Used EV dealer Alex Lawrence in Utah says that's because for every shopper racing to snag these tax credits, there are.
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Donald Trump
Still many, many, many, many, many more people that don't even know this exists.
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Alex Lawrence
The federal tax credits are worth up to four grand for used cars and up to $7,500 for new vehicles. And buyers can get that discount up front at the time of purchase, even use it as a down payment. The future of the credit is uncertain. It would require an act of Congress to completely eliminate it. But the Trump administration could also just make it harder to get. Camila Dominosky, NPR News.
- [02:28]
Lakshmi Singh
Germany is headed toward a snap election in February. Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence today in parliament. Here's NPR's Rob Schmitz.
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Rob Schmitz
Today's vote puts an end to Scholz's fractious government at a time when Europe's biggest economy is under strain from Russia's war in Ukraine and from increased competition from China. Shultz's defeat paves the way for the dissolution of parliament ahead of early elections scheduled for February 23rd. Going into the short winter election campaign, the center right Christian Democratic Union Party is polling first, following, followed by the far right AfD party and Scholz's own Social Democrats. The collapse of Scholz's three party coalition government came in early November when Shultz fired his finance minister after months of debate over how to revitalize Germany's stagnant economy.
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Lakshmi Singh
That's Rob Schmitz reporting. It's NPR News. Deposed Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad is speaking out for the first time since insurgents overthrew his authoritarian government nearly two weeks ago and he fled to Russia. In a new post on Telegram, Assad says his departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles. The former Syrian president accuses Syria's rivals of spreading misinformation that he says is aimed at recasting international terrorism as a liberation revolution for Syria. In the US Coffee prices are spiking and not only here, but also around the globe of extreme drought. Another unusual weather in top growing countries. And Piazza Lena Salyuk says the price of coffee in the futures market has been trading at near record highs.
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Alina Seluk
Brazil is the top grower of the world's most popular coffee bean called arabica. Vietnam is the top grower of the second most popular bean called robusta. And over the past year, Vietnam faced severe drought followed by heavier than usual rains. And then Brazil had one of the worst droughts with rains delayed. Scientists say climate change is shifting weather patterns in those regions. Futures prices for both types of beans have soared. Robusta this year has doubled in price. Arabica this week passed a 50 year high. And both have lately gone up and down, hovering around record levels, fueled in part by financial speculators. Brands like Nescafe and Folgers have already raised their retail prices in response. Alina Seluk, NPR News.
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Lakshmi Singh
The dow is down 40 points. The S&P has risen 28. The Nasdaq is up 229 points. This is NPR News.
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