Deep Dive
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This message is brought to you by NPR sponsor, Lisa, in collaboration with West Elm. Discover the new natural hybrid mattress, expertly crafted from natural latex and certified safe foams, designed with your health and the planet in mind. Visit leesa.com to learn more. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Hurst.
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen the head of a pro-Trump think tank to be his U.S. Agricultural Secretary. As NPR's Sarah McCammon reports, Brooke Rollins is slated to lead the agency responsible for the nation's farm and nutrition programs. Brooke Rollins worked for Trump's first administration, most notably as director of the Domestic Policy Council.
After leaving the White House, Rollins was among a group of senior advisors who set up the America First Policy Institute to promote Trump's ideas. She's now the nonprofit group's president and CEO. Rollins has an agriculture degree from Texas A&M and a law degree from the University of Texas.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has around 100,000 employees and oversees several large programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and farm subsidies.
Sarah McCammon, NPR News. Israeli airstrikes hit the heart of Lebanon's capital early this morning, killing at least 15 people, injuring dozens of others. Israeli reports say it was targeting a Hezbollah leader in an area of central Beirut, away from the group's base of operations in the city's southern suburbs.
And here's Lauren Freyer has more from Beirut. The Israeli military often issues evacuation orders before it strikes. But this one came without warning at 4 a.m. local time, a series of huge blasts that leveled an eight story building and shook people in their beds a mile away. Beirut still smells of explosives hours later. Local TV shows a massive crater, one building collapsed and others on fire all around it.
For blocks, balconies are blown out and buildings covered in soot. Lebanon's national news agency says Israel used bunker buster bombs in this strike. Israel says its airstrikes target Hezbollah militants. They've primarily hit across Lebanon's south and east, where the group has strongholds. But strikes like this in central parts of the capital are becoming more frequent. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, Beirut.
Amazon says it's investing another $4 billion into the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. The move comes amid the ongoing battle to lead the AI future in Silicon Valley. And here's Bobby Allen has more. Amazon's big bet on AI startup Anthropic doubles its investment in the company.
Its language model, Claude, competes with ChatGPT from rival company OpenAI. And the race is on. Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Amazon-backed Anthropic, and Elon Musk's XAI, with support from Google, are locked in an AI standoff. The money pouring into AI Ventures is fueling a search for the next ChatGPT, an AI-powered commercial product with mass appeal.
Much of the big tech investment allows AI startups to access what's called compute, or the immense amount of power it takes to run AI systems. It all comes as regulators in Washington probe into leading AI companies. Scrutiny that may diminish when President-elect Donald Trump enters office in January. Bobby Allen, NPR News. This is NPR News.
Hollywood might have another Barbenheimer-style double feature this weekend. And Pierce Bob Mondello says the industry is hoping Gladiator 2 plus Wicked Part 1 equals Glickit. Personally, I prefer Wickiator, but it'll be good for cinemas either way. Like Barbie, Wicked is expected to appeal to women and girls, while Gladiator leans male, as did Oppenheimer. Early estimates have Wicked living up to its hit song. Popular
Looking at almost $120 million for the weekend while Gladiator 2... This is about to burn!
Should take in about half that. Usually when two Hollywood blockbusters bang heads in the same weekend, one of them suffers. But patrons doing a Barbenheimer double feature actually boosted both films last year. The industry hopes the wicked gladiator combo will also be defying gravity. But after a lackluster fall, cinema owners will be relieved if they just reach current estimates. Bob Mondello, NPR News.
Florida's Surgeon General says communities in the state should not add fluoride to drinking water. Joseph Oladipo says that's because of what he calls the neuropsychiatric risk that's associated with fluoride exposure. He does acknowledge in the guidance, though, that fluoride has long been proven to reduce tooth decay by strengthening teeth, but he says there are possible safety concerns related to systemic fluoride exposure.
President-elect Trump's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has said he would advise against fluoride being added to U.S. water systems. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.