NPR News: 12-04-2025 3AM EST

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shay Stevens. The Pentagon's Inspector General says that Defense Secretary Pete Hekseth put U.S.

troops in harm's way by sharing sensitive information on a pending U.S. attack.
As NVR's great MyRube reports, Hekseth used a messaging app to discuss pending U.S.

attacks on rebels in Yemen last March. He was sending messages in the hours and minutes even leading up to the U.S.
start of the bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.

He provided the exact times that the U.S. was launching F-18 warplanes as well as drones and tomahawk missiles.

He also laid out the timeline when these weapons would begin to strike, information that's obviously very closely held when an operation is getting underway.

And this operation against the Houthis lasted for weeks. It ultimately ended when the Houthi attacks diminished against those commercial ships in the Red Sea.
And Pierce Greg Myri.

Meanwhile, NPR CEO Catherine Maher is chairman of the board of the Signal Foundation.

Somali American leaders are urging their community to assert their constitutional rights amid stepped-up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities.

President Trump has once again attacked Somali immigrants in racist and xenophobic terms, as Minnesota Public Radio's Matt Sepik reports.

At a Tuesday cabinet meeting, Trump said he doesn't want people of Somali descent in the United States and called them, quote, garbage.

Jaylani Hussein with the Council on American Islamic Relations in Minnesota says he's received reports of federal agents asking U.S. citizens about their citizenship.

Hussein says it's racism disguised as immigration policy. This attack against the Somali community is an attack against black people.
President Trump has a history of targeting black people.

This is no different. Around 80,000 people of Somali heritage live in Minnesota.
The vast majority are American citizens. For NPR News, I'm Matt Sepik in St.
Paul.

Atlanta-based Delta Airlines says it lost $200 billion in profits during the longest government shutdown in history. Details from WABE's Melissa Fato in Atlanta.

The 43-day shutdown caused delays and cancellations in major airports as unpaid air traffic controllers missed work, ultimately leading the Federal Aviation Administration to order airlines to cancel up to 6% of their domestic flights at 40 airports.

Delta is the first U.S. airline to disclose the exact financial impacts of the shutdown.
CEO Ed Bastion told investors that refunds grew significantly and booking slowed during that period.

Bastion also said comments from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy over controller shortages and travel safety led more customers to hold off on booking tickets.

More than 10,000 flights were cut nationwide between November 7th and November 16th. For NPR News, I'm Melissa Fato in Atlanta.
U.S. futures are flat in after hours trading on Wall Street.

This is NPR.

A former California doctor who supplied actor Matthew Perry with ketamine has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

44-year-old Salvador Placencia admitted selling the drugs to Perry before his fatal overdose.

Prosecutors say that Placencia did not supply the ketamine that killed Perry, but that he did illegally sell the drug to a known addict.

Legendary guitarist, songwriter, and record producer Steve Cropper has died. He was a major force on the Stacks record label during the 1960s.

From Memphis, Christopher Blank, with member station WKNO, has more on Cropper's legacy in southern soul music.

Integrated bands were a rarity in this city back when this white guitar player first teamed up with some of the greatest icons of soul music to create the famous Memphis sound, gritty, brassy, and unforgettable.

Cropper's lyrics and guitar riffs live on in classic hits by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Salmon Dave, and many others.

Though often a behind-the-scenes influence, he's listed among Rolling Stone magazine's 100 greatest guitarists. He's memorialized in various music industry halls of fame.

Steve Cropper died Wednesday at his home in Nashville. He was 84.
For NPR News, I'm Christopher Blank in Memphis. Again, U.S.

futures are flat, and after hours trading on Wall Street following Wednesday's gains, the Dow added 408 points. The NASDAQ rose 40.

On Asia-Pacific market, shares are mixed, down a fraction in Shanghai, up 2% in Tokyo. This is NPR News.

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