Overview of NPR News Now headlines — November 12, 4 a.m. ET
NPR’s hourly update covers Scott Colom’s narrow win in Mississippi’s Senate race, a dispute between the White House and congressional Democrats over oversight investigations, urgent appeals at the COP31 climate summit, President Trump’s proposed military arch, and a court ruling limiting federal searches of journalists’ correspondence.
Key headlines
- Mississippi Senate race: Democrat Scott Colom defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. Mail-in and affidavit ballots around Jackson have been counted, but the results remain unofficial until election commissioners certify them and send them to the Secretary of State.
- Congressional oversight: White House Counsel Will Scharf warned Congressman Robert Garcia, expected to lead the House Oversight Committee next year, against what the administration called abusive or unlawful investigative threats. Garcia said Congress would not be deterred from its oversight role.
COP31 climate summit
World leaders from 197 nations opened two weeks of negotiations in Antalya, Turkey. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for urgent climate action, as scientists warn that global warming could exceed 1.5°C in the coming years, raising risks to sea levels and ecosystems. The U.S. administration was absent for a second consecutive year.
Trump’s proposed military arch
In his Veterans Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery, President Trump suggested his proposed 250-foot triumphal arch could also honor military veterans. The project faces legal challenges from Kennedy family members, who argue it would obstruct views of John F. Kennedy’s grave and cast a lasting shadow over nearby servicemembers’ graves.
Court limits search of journalists’ correspondence
A federal appeals court ruled that the Justice Department cannot require LinkedIn to turn over broad amounts of correspondence involving journalists as part of a national security leak investigation. The court found that sweeping searches could interfere with press protections and ordered the search narrowed. The underlying leak and the journalists involved remain undisclosed.