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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst. President-elect Donald Trump today nominated Brooke Rawlins as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture. She served as the Director of Domestic Policy Council in his first administration.
Trump also tapped billionaire investor Scott Besant as his Treasury Secretary. That's a position with widespread responsibilities in economic, regulatory and international affairs. And Pierre Scott Horsley has more. He'll probably get a friendly reception from the new GOP Congress if he's confirmed. One of his first jobs will be getting an extension of Trump's 2017 tax cuts.
parts of which are set to expire next year. He'll likely be pushing on an open door when it comes to cutting taxes, although that would probably add to the federal debt, which we learned just yesterday has now surpassed $36 trillion. In Pura, Scott Horsley reporting.
Turnout in this year's presidential election was very high historically, and Republicans, including Donald Trump, fared well, winning the House, Senate, and presidency. As NPR's Miles Parks reports, that contradicts conventional political wisdom, and it could entice Republicans to embrace policies that make voting easier. For years, it was a very difficult time for Republicans to win the House, Senate, and presidency.
It's been largely assumed that high turnout elections would favor Democrats. That's because low propensity voters tend to be poorer and less educated, and those groups have tended to vote Democratic.
2024 turned that upside down. It was the second highest turnout election since 1960, and the GOP won big. Charles Stewart, an election expert at MIT, says it'll be interesting now to see how that impacts the party's feelings about voting policy. Republicans are much less likely to favor elections
election reforms that expand access. But it's an open question whether that will shift now that the party has succeeded in a high turnout environment. Miles Parks, NPR News, Washington. In the United Arab Emirates, authorities are investigating the disappearance of an Israeli Moldovan rabbi who is connected to an Orthodox Jewish organization. NPR's Ruth Sherlock has more from Tel Aviv.
The Israeli Prime Minister's office says Rabbi Tzvi Kogan, an Israeli Moldovan citizen, has been missing since Thursday afternoon. In a statement, it said Israeli intelligence and security authorities have launched an intensive investigation in light of information that, quote, suggested a terrorist incident. Kogan has been in the UAE working with Chabad, a Jewish Orthodox community organization with chapters around the world.
Chabad first opened its office in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi in 2020 after diplomatic ties were established between Israel and the UAE. A representative in the Chabad office in Abu Dhabi told NPR they had no information to share regarding Kogan's whereabouts. The UAE foreign ministry did not immediately reply to NPR's request for comment. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is NPR News.
Federal health officials say an infant has died from a listeria outbreak that's tied to ready-to-eat meat from Yusheng Food. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 11 people were infected in several states, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York, and that nine people were hospitalized.
Listeria was found during routine tests last month, and this week, the Spartanburg, South Carolina-based company recalled 72,000 pounds of meat and poultry products as a result. That, though, is an expansion of an original recall on November 9 that involved around 4,500 pounds of product.
The championship match in the National Women's Soccer League is set for tonight, 8 p.m. Eastern, in Kansas City. It's between the Washington Spirit, a No. 2 seed, and the top-seeded Orlando Pride. Greg Eklund has a preview of the match. Orlando is riding its hopes on 38-year-old Marta, the Brazilian superstar who scored the Pride's game-winning goal in their semifinal match last weekend.
Washington forward Ashley Hatch, who was around for the Spirits-only NWSL title in 2021, says her team is well aware of Marta's stature in the game. Obviously, we respect her, but we also want to beat her. So I think it's a combination of all those things. But I think playing against an amazing player such as Marta, like,
it brings so much more excitement to the game. During the regular season, Washington played Orlando twice and lost both contests. For NPR News, I'm Greg Eklund in Kansas City. And I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News.
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