Chapter 1: What happened to the National Guardsman near the White House?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. A 24-year-old National Guardsman remains in critical condition after being shot Wednesday near the White House. A second member of the National Guard, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, died of her wounds yesterday. A suspect is in custody. He's identified as a 29-year-old Afghan national who had worked with the CIA during the war in Afghanistan.
The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Janine Perot, says he'll be charged with murder in the first degree. She says the investigation continues.
We continue to seek warrants and to execute on those warrants, even as we speak, not just in Washington, the state of Washington, but in other areas around the country to get everything that we need to make sure that this prosecution is as factful as we need in terms of the law itself.
and the evidence.
Chapter 2: How are retailers preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales?
She was interviewed this morning on Fox News. Black Friday is still the busiest shopping day of the year, and so is the weekend into Cyber Monday. This year, despite low consumer sentiment and shoppers' lingering anxiety about tariffs, inflation, and uncertainty, retailers are predicting record sales. NPR's Luna Selyuk reports.
The National Retail Federation forecasts that sales will top $1 trillion for the first time spent on gifts, food and decorations. That would be growth of about 4% compared to last year, which is similar to what we saw last holiday season. Other forecasts are less exuberant. Deloitte, for example, predicts growth of about 3%.
Still, this promises a shopping season that's far from the flop many feared earlier in the year when President Trump began to launch tariffs on almost all imports. In part, that's because tariffs rolled out in fits and starts with delays, giving retailers time to stock up.
Chapter 3: What recent events occurred in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
without setting skyrocketing prices. Also worth noting that much of the spending is being propped up by wealthier shoppers. Alina Seluk, NPR News.
Stocks rose during an abbreviated post-Thanksgiving session today. All the major indexes gained ground. Israeli forces shot and killed two young Palestinian men in the occupied West Bank after they knelt on the ground and appeared to surrender. NPR's Kat Lansdorf reports.
The killings took place in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, where the neighboring refugee camp has been the focus of an ongoing Israeli military operation for almost a year. In the videos, the two Palestinian men come out of a garage holding their hands up and lifting their shirts to show they're unarmed.
They're ordered to their knees and comply before gunshots ring out and the men slump to the ground, apparently dead.
Chapter 4: What changes are happening in Ukraine's leadership regarding the war negotiations?
One Israeli soldier can be seen firing a weapon. In a statement, the Israeli military said the two men were, quote, wanted individuals and that the incident was being investigated. Palestinian and human rights groups point out such investigations are often lacking and Israeli troops rarely prosecuted. Kat Lonsdorff, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
This is NPR News. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced today that Ukraine's top negotiator in talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine has resigned. Andrei Yermak was also Zelensky's chief of staff. He stepped down hours after an anti-corruption investigators had searched his residence in connection with an alleged fraud scheme in the energy sector.
One of Colorado's largest ski resorts has delayed its opening due to unusually mild weather. Colorado Public Radio's Dina Sieg reports that Beaver Creek Resort was set to open Wednesday, ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday, and hasn't set a new date.
Chapter 5: How is the weather affecting ski resort openings in Colorado?
Beaver Creek, about two hours west of Denver, isn't the only ski area in the state to push back opening day. Powderhorn Mountain Resort near the Utah border was tentatively scheduled to open last week and is still closed. Forecaster Kate Abbott with the National Weather Service says the mountains are about 10 degrees warmer than average.
But we do start to see temperatures start to fall into... The 20s and teens as the week progresses, which will certainly bring some relief to the snowmaking efforts.
Colorado snowpack is well below normal. For NPR News, I'm Steena Sieg in Grand Junction, Colorado.
A union representing workers at Starbucks said today it's escalating its strike, which began November 13th. It's expanding the strike to more than 120 stores in 85 cities. The striking workers want a union contract, higher pay, and better working hours.
Chapter 6: What are the reasons behind the escalating Starbucks workers' strike?
I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.