Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. White House envoy Steve Witkoff is to go to Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine. Some Ukrainian officials say they're not surprised by leaked transcripts of a conversation in which Witkoff said he had deep respect for Putin. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.
Chapter 2: What is the latest update on the Ukraine conflict?
NPR has not been able to independently confirm the transcripts released by Bloomberg. In one call, Witkoff encourages the Putin advisor to have Putin call President Trump and flatter him over his recent Mideast peace deal. in order to get the ball rolling on a similar deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The Putin call came a day ahead of a White House visit by Volodymyr Zelensky in October and likely dashed the Ukrainian president's hopes for Tomahawk missiles. A second release conversation between two Putin advisors confirms a recent 28-point peace plan released by Russia and the U.S. was likely entirely concocted by Russia.
That plan, which favored Russia, has since been heavily amended by the Ukrainians and Europeans. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv.
The National Park Service is hiking fees for international tourists. The Interior Department says the new, quote, America First fees will be in place at 11 parks. NPR's Kristen Wright reports.
The affected parks include some of the most visited, like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite. Tourists from other countries will have to pay a new $100 fee to enter, plus the regular entrance charge. The Interior Department is also more than tripling the cost of an annual park pass for international visitors. to $250 instead of $80, which is what U.S. residents will still pay.
And now, fee-free days on several patriotic holidays will only be free for U.S. residents. The department says the fees will help cover upgrades to visitor facilities and maintenance. The National Park Service has been dealing with budget cuts and staff reductions, plus money lost during the government shutdown. Kristen Wright, NPR News.
Stocks opened higher on this last trading day before Thanksgiving. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 140 points in early trading.
The more than 70 million Americans expected to take road trips over the holiday weekend will find some good prices on gasoline. AAA reports the average price of regular gas nationwide is $3.04 a gallon. That's about a nickel cheaper than a week ago and two cents less than this time last year.
Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose by half a percent in September, with defense products leading the charge. Orders for durable goods other than defense products rose just one-tenth of a percent. New applications for unemployment benefits dipped last week as 216,000 people applied for aid. As of early November, about 1.7 million people were receiving some form of jobless assistance.
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