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Today's top stories
A ceasefire deal between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon went into effect today. It aims to end the fighting across the Israeli-Lebanese border that has killed thousands of people since it was ignited by the war in Gaza last year. The U.S. and France helped to facilitate the deal, which President Biden announced yesterday. Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese army and state security forces will take control of their territory while Israel gradually withdraws.
- 🎧 The mood is festive in Beirut, NPR's Lauren Frayer tells Up First. Celebratory gunfire, calls to prayer and howling dogs woke her up at 4 a.m., when the deal officially started. Though many there are celebrating, Frayer says they might find they no longer have homes standing. A third of Lebanon and tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced. Israel is not yet calling on its residents to return to their abandoned homes in the north. Officials say there will be a one to two-month period of rebuilding before that happens.
Overnight, Pakistan's security forces dispersed protesters who marched to the nation's capital of Islamabad to demand the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested since Sunday. On Tuesday, the protests got violent, and six people were killed, including four security personnel.
- 🎧 "The coming days may well reflect what we've seen in the past 18 months since Imran Khan was jailed: a cycle of increasingly violent encounters," NPR's Diaa Hadid says. The army is the country's most powerful institution, but many of Khan's supporters believe the army rigged the country's elections in February to bring the current government into power. Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, tells Hadid that "you have a critical mass of the public that has essentially lost confidence in public institutions." Hadid says it's unusual for the military to be deployed against civilians in the capital, but it could happen again as nothing has been resolved.
President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to hit Canada and Mexico with a 25% tariff on goods unless the countries control the flow of illegal drugs and undocumented migrants across the border. He has also threatened a 10% tariff on products from China. Trump claims those nations have not done enough to stop undocumented migrants and fentanyl from crossing into the U.S.
- 🎧 Experts tell NPR's Brian Mann these countries cannot just shut down fentanyl smuggling because it's really easy to make and move across the border. Vanda Felbab-Brown, a drug policy expert at the Brookings Institution, says the best-case scenario is that the threats will prompt negotiations that lead to better cooperation on these issues with more realistic goals. One expert says the trade fight could unravel the growing international cooperation targeting drug traffickers in China and Mexico.
Life advice
If you are flying home for Thanksgiving, you can bring some of your favorite dishes with you through TSA checkpoints, while others need to go through a checked bag. When traveling by Amtrak, riders can bring their food and drinks onboard in their seats or private sleeping car. Here is what you need to know about traveling with food.
- ✈️ Foods that can be brought through a TSA checkpoint include mac and cheese in a pan, turkey (which can be frozen, cooked, or uncooked), casseroles, fresh vegetables, and more.
- ✈️ To prevent food poisoning, leftovers must be refrigerated within two hours of being served or kept hot at or above 140 degrees or cold below 40 degrees.
- ✈️ If your food has liquid in it, make sure it meets TSA's 3-1-1 rule, which mandates that it must be 3.4 ounces or less, fit into one quart-sized bag and each passenger gets one bag.
Check which other foods are allowed at TSA checkpoints and what should be kept in your checked bag.
Picture show
The Foldscope, a powerful science tool the size of a bookmark, provides a resource for schools that can't afford microscopes. The creators have handed out 2 million units, which come in a pouch. The main part of the tool is one long sheet of paper, and the device can magnify up to 140 times. Each unit costs around $2 to make.
- 📷 See photos of how the Foldscopes have impacted kids' lives.
3 things to know before you go
- Drake has filed a petition against Spotify and Universal Music Group, claiming they conspired to inflate the streaming and radio numbers of Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" during their ongoing feud.
- Dictionary.com's word of the year is "demure." Its usage increased due to lifestyle and beauty influencer Jools Lebron's catchphrase, "very demure, very mindful."
- Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" has officially tied the all-time record of 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, set by Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus)" in 2019.
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.
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