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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Israel's cabinet is adopting a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Word of the deal came even as Israeli warplanes were continuing to strike targets in Lebanon, killing at least 42 people there. President Joe Biden, speaking from the White House Rose Garden, outlined terms of the agreement between the two sides. Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese army and state security forces will deploy
and take control of their own territory once again. Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon will not be allowed to be rebuilt. And over the next 60 days, Israel will gradually withdraw its remaining forces. The Israeli military today issued evacuation warnings as it continued to go after the Iranian-backed militant group until the final moments of the ceasefire deal. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu presented the proposal to cabinet ministers earlier in the day.
President-elect Trump said he would enact a 25% tariff on imports from Canada on day one in office. As A.J. Jones from member station WCMU reports, Canadian shipping companies who rely on the Great Lakes are worried about potential consequences. Trump cited concerns over illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking as the reason for the proposed tariffs.
Bruce Burrows is the CEO of the Chamber of Marine Commerce, a group representing Canadian and American shipping stakeholders. He says the new tariffs might hurt agriculture companies on both sides of the border. They manufacture products that they sell to the American consumer, and if their input costs go up by 25%, then that's going to be passed on very quickly.
to the U.S. consumer. And so this is not good. Last year, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway generated over $50 billion U.S. in economic activity. For NPR News, I'm A.J. Jones in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. President-elect Trump has nominated Jameson Greer as U.S. trade representative. Separately, Trump named Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. Hassett previously served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors in the first Trump term.
Weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound could be easier for people to access who are on Medicare and Medicaid. More from NPR's Cindy Lopkin. Many people who rely on Medicare and Medicaid for their health insurance do not have access to popular medications that treat obesity. That's because of decades-old legislation that specifically excludes drugs for weight gain, weight loss, and anorexia from mandatory coverage.
The Biden administration says it is proposing a rule to remedy that for people with obesity, expanding access to an estimated 3.4 million people on Medicare and 4 million people on Medicaid. Currently, the drugs are only required to be covered if the patient also has cardiovascular disease because they can reduce the risk of a heart attack. It's unclear, however, if the proposed rule will become finalized in the incoming Trump administration. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. You're listening to NPR.
Even as millions of travelers prepare to head out for the Thanksgiving holiday, including many who will travel by air, United Airlines is warning about what it calls an acute shortage of air traffic controllers at busy Newark Airport outside New York.
The airline says that is already causing significant disruption. United says the Federal Aviation Administration has been forced to reduce traffic flows to the New Jersey hub because of low staffing on roughly half the days this month, disrupting travel for more than 343,000 United flyers. That includes delays, cancellations and longer flight times, according to the airline.
Negotiators from dozens of countries are in South Korea trying to write a United Nations treaty to cut down on plastic pollution, appears Michael Copley reports. People create a huge amount of plastic waste, hundreds of millions of tons annually, and the amount's growing fast. Plastics made from oil and gas in countries that produce fossil fuels are fighting efforts to limit plastic production.
The problem is, that's one of the most effective solutions. That's according to Douglas Macaulay, who's an environmental scientist at University of California, Santa Barbara. You have a hard time ending this problem of global plastic pollution unless you actually, we specifically put it in a cap. Countries are also looking for ways to improve recycling, and there are efforts to regulate harmful chemicals used in plastic.
The talks are due to end December 1st. Michael Copley, NPR News. Crude oil futures prices continue to move lower, extending yesterday's losses amid uncertainty as to whether a Mideast ceasefire will lessen risk and possibly lead to falling prices. Oil was down 17 cents a barrel to settle at 68.77 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.
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