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President-elect Donald Trump announced former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi as his new pick to run the Justice Department after former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his bid to become attorney general yesterday. Bondi is a longtime ally of Trump and as one of the lawyers during his first impeachment trial. Gaetz faced a controversial deal from the start amid allegations of sex trafficking and drug use.
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference meeting on February 23 in National Harbor, Md.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
- 🎧 Gaetz denied any wrongdoing, but all the baggage was put front and center when he was named as Trump’s pick.NPR’s Ryan Lucas tells Go up first. Gaetz said he hopes to avoid “unnecessary Washington bickering.” Trump and his team consider the attorney general to be one of the most important jobs in the incoming administration because of his relationship with the Justice Department in his first term. The main question, if Bondi is confirmed, is whether he will use the Justice Department’s powers to pursue Trump’s desire for retribution, Lucas said.
- ➡️ Trump has chosen several Cabinet nominees and top advisers so far when he builds his team. This is how the new government works.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised message yesterday that Moscow has the right to attack NATO countries that support Ukraine. Putin’s statement came after Russia fired an experimental medium-range ballistic missile over the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in response to Kyiv’s long-range missile attack earlier this week.
- 🎧 Putin is sending a message that NATO could be a targetNPR’s Greg Myre said. Michael Kofman, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Russia may have the upper hand now, but it is suffering heavy casualties and cannot sustain this pace indefinitely. Meanwhile, Ukrainians face additional challenges. Trump has said he wants to negotiate an end to the war if he is in office. Kofman believes that Putin may not want to negotiate seriously if he believes that he has gained ground.
Strong storms are known to soak rivers of atmosphere in Northern California and Oregon this weekbringing high winds and the risk of flooding. The big question: Will climate change make these storms worse?
- 🎧 A hurricane is a mass of moisture that moves across the Pacific Ocean. NPR’s Lauren Sommer explained that he was like a firehose pointed at the West Coast. These storms are important because California receives half of its annual rainfall. When it comes to climate change, with the warming of the planet, it causes more rainfall. There is more evaporation that causes storms that just need to be worked on.
Looking for common ground
Gaia Ferrency, 17, of Swissvale, Pa., waits her turn in the longsword tournament as part of the ‘Friday Night Fights’ hosted by Broken Plow and the Pittsburgh Sword Fighters at Liechtenauer Church in Creighton, Pa., Oct. 4, 2024.
Justin Merriman for NPR
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Justin Merriman for NPR
In the past few years and through this year’s contentious campaign season, the way people talk to each other has become violent. Reporters across the NPR Network are looking for examples people work through different. These stories explore how some people try to bridge the divide.
Members of the Pittsburgh Sword Fighters club and school leave politics at the door during Friday Night Fights in a former Catholic church. The development of the rules began around 2016 when the club’s owner, Josh Parise, said he was fed up with the political discourse in the US. to find common ground. Here’s what people involved have to say about it no politics allowed in the place.
Weekend selection
Galinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) are opposites in every way, forced to room together at Shiz University.
Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures
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Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures
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Check what NPR watch, read and listen this weekend:
🍿 Puppet: Seeds: Part 1 features Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande playing the roles of Elphaba and Galinda, respectively, who are opposite in every way yet form a bond as Oz enters a period of social unrest.
📺 TV: New Netflix series A Man Inside follows a retired widow, played by Ted Danson, who goes undercover to solve crime in a retirement community.
📚 Book: Former President Bill Clinton discusses his new memoir Citizen: My Life After the White House with NPR’s Leila Fadel on Morning edition. The memoir takes its title from Clinton’s farewell address to the nation.
🎵 Music: Rapper MF DOOM’s last album was 2004 MM.. FOOD20 years later, it can be the closest thing to an autobiography – and it’s one to play to hear the essence of his art.
🍽️ Food: Recipes you might want to try this Thanksgiving: Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish. Here are reviews from some NPR staff and the recipe.
3 things to know before you go
Colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Escherichia coli bacteria (green) taken from the small intestine of a child. E. coli is a rod-shaped bacterium that is part of the normal flora of the human gut.
Stephanie Schuller / Science Source
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Stephanie Schuller / Science Source
Color scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Escherichia coli bacteria (green) taken from the small intestine of a child. E. coli is a rod-shaped bacterium that is part of the normal flora of the human gut.
Stephanie Schuller / Science Source
- Nearly 170,000 kilograms of beef were recalled because it can be contaminated with E. coliaccording to the US government. It is distributed to restaurants across the country.
- The FAFSA form officially opened yesterday for students and the family hopes to receive it financial aid to pay for college in the 2025-26 school year.
- The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the conviction of former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett yesterday for allegedly committing a hate crime against himself in Chicago in 2019. It will save him from a five-month prison sentence. (by WBZ)
This newsletter is edited by Majd Al-Waheidi.
