NPR News: 11-30-2025 9PM EST

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Roman. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he had productive talks with the delegation from Ukraine, but more work is needed to get a deal with Russia.

The talks in Florida came ahead of a visit to Moscow this week by President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff. NPR's Michelle Kelleman reports.

Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner joined Rubio in the talks with the delegation from Kyiv.

Rubio says they made progress and they're working on something that will be comprehensive to make sure Ukraine won't face another Russian invasion once this war ends.

It's not just about the terms that end fighting. It's about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity.
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustim Umirov, said the U.S.

was, quote, super supportive. Rubio says he's realistic, calling the diplomacy complicated with a lot of moving parts.
He says it will continue when Witkoff goes to Moscow this week.

Michelle Kelleman, NPR News, Washington. Last month, Chinese policymakers revealed their proposed economic plan for the next five years.

It prioritizes technology and creating an advanced manufacturing base. Sector is booming right now in China.

But at the same time, as NPR's Emily Fang reports, there's been a slump in overall investment, flattening growth in wages and deflating prices.

How can China's tech industry be booming, but prospects for Chinese workers look so dim? Here's Leila Kawaja, a research director focusing on tech at Gavical, a global investment research company.

There is this intense competition inside China where everybody's kind of kidding each other.

And despite the success of many cutting-edge tech companies, overall, the economy still suffers from overcapacity and overcompetition between firms.

So you have less job security for people working in industries going out of fashion and companies that are innovative, but not making that much in profits. Emily Fang and Peer News.

The Atlantic hurricane season draws to an official close today with 13 named storms and three Category 5 hurricanes. It fulfilled the forecast it would be an active season.

But as NPR's Greg Allen reports for the first time in a decade, no hurricane made landfall in the U.S.

The season's most destructive hurricane was Melissa, which hit Jamaica with 185 mile-per-hour winds, devastating communities like Black River and St. Elizabeth.

As it formed and approached the island, the National Hurricane Center accurately forecasts the storm's track and intensity, aided by a new weather model powered by artificial intelligence.

Google's deep-mind AI-based model provided meteorologists with their best guidance this season. Wallace Hogsett is a science operation officer with NHC.

I think it's clear at this point that AI will be a component of the hurricane forecast process going forward.

Researchers say AI models will lead to earlier and more accurate hurricane forecasts vital for protecting vulnerable communities. Greg Alwin, NPR News, Miami.
It's NPR.

President Trump says he's invited the family of National Guard specialist Sarah Beckstrom to the White House.

Beckstrom died on Thanksgiving Day after being shot last week in Washington in an attack near the White House.

Trump says the family of the second shooting victim, Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe, has also been invited. Wolf remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Diphtheria cases are on the rise.

So far this year, there have been more than 20,000 suspected cases, most of them in Africa. As NPR's Gabriella Manuel reports, global health organizations are working to respond.

Diphtheria is caused by a bacteria that creates toxins and can be deadly. It has been very rare thanks to childhood immunizations.

But in recent years, there have been sustained outbreaks in places like Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen.

Katie Clark works for the vaccine group Gavi and says the organization is in the early stages of creating a new diphtheria emergency response system. How should we organize ourselves?

What's the best way to coordinate? How can we, again, get the right response plan together? But the group isn't waiting for the new system.

It's already provided 19 million vaccine doses for outbreak response. Gabriella Emmanuel, NPR News.

Two undefeated Big Ten football teams, Ohio State and Indiana University, remain number one and two in the college football poll.

They'll play for the Big Ten Conference Championship next week in Indianapolis. The SEC's Georgia moved up is now third in the poll.
They'll play Alabama Saturday in Atlanta for the SEC championship.

I'm Dan Ronan, NPR News.

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