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Today’s top stories

Sarah Beckstrom, one of two West Virginia National Guard members who were shot in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, has died. President Trump announced the 20-year-old’s death during a Thanksgiving call to service members. Beckstrom and the other Guard member, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe, were on patrol a few blocks away from the White House when the alleged gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, opened fire. Wolfe remains in critical condition. In the wake of this shooting, the Trump administration is launching a comprehensive “reexamination” of thousands of refugees and migrants who have been admitted to the U.S. and granted green cards.

• 🎧 Lakanwal served in Afghanistan alongside U.S. forces as part of an elite counter-terrorism unit connected to the CIA and the military, NPR’s Brian Mann tells Up First. The alleged gunman applied for asylum during the Biden administration and was granted protection in April of this year under the Trump administration. Trump has called for an effort to “denaturalize migrants” and “deport” foreign nationals. Mann notes that the Trump administration’s narrative suggests that Lakanwal was allowed into the U.S. without proper vetting, indicating that this could be a broader issue. But sources like the nonprofit group AfghanEvac tell NPR that Lakanwal would have been scrutinized repeatedly in Afghanistan and before he arrived in the U.S. Experts say that while the vetting process for Afghan refugees was audited and found to be imperfect, it was thorough. They also emphasize that the majority of refugees from Afghanistan are living in the U.S. peacefully.

At least 128 people have died after a massive fire engulfed a high-rise housing complex that houses around 4,600 people in Hong Kong from Wednesday to Friday. This is one of the region’s deadliest blazes in decades, and authorities have indicated that the death toll may continue to rise. The police have arrested three men for alleged manslaughter in connection with the fire. Here’s what else we know.

(Just a few) of the Books We Love

Hey folks – Andrew Limbong here, host of NPR’s Book of the Day podcast. I’m tapping in this week to let you all know about our annual recommendation engine, Books We Love. If you wanna come and hang and keep chatting about books stuff, subscribe to the books newsletter!

This week, NPR dropped its massive year-end book recommendation tool, Books We Love. It’s not quite a year-end list, 10 best or whatever, seeing as there are more than 380 books included. Instead, it’s a way of saying: Here’s a bunch of books. There’s something in here for you.

But I get it — 380 is a daunting number, even with Books We Love’s handy-dandy filter tag system. So here’s just a small slice, a sliver, a taste of a few of the books several of our staffers and critics were into this year.

📚 The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami — You know that spooky feeling you get when you make small talk with someone about needing a new TV, and your phone then just happens to send you the latest TV deals? This dystopian novel is like that but scarier. Emily Kwong, host of NPR’s Short Wave, writes, “I found The Dream Hotel instructive for navigating a society beset by mass surveillance — where the only escape can be found in shouldering risk together.”

• 📚 King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby — If gritty crime fiction is more your thing, Cosby’s latest centers around a family-run small business that gets roped into being involved with a local drug gang. If you think you’ve heard this one before, that small business happens to be a crematorium. Weekend Edition producer Melissa Gray writes, “This story spins and spins violently to a dark and satisfying conclusion.”
• 📚 Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy — This time of year finds lots of folks feeling … different, complicated, conflicting feelings about their parents. The novelist Arundhati Roy wrestles with her own ambivalent feelings about her mother in this new memoir. Morning Edition host Leila Fadel writes, “It’s a story of turbulent love and of liberation that is beautiful, witty and at times uncomfortable to read.”
• 📚 Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green — You might recognize TB by its more romantic name, consumption. But … it’s weird there was a time when we romanticized this deadly disease, right? In this book, Green presents TB as very much a present, fatal, yet curable concern. Here & Now producer James Perkins Mastromarino writes that the book is “witty, cogent and achingly beautiful.”

Again, this is just a tiny fraction of the hundreds of books we’ve got on this year’s edition of Books We Love, as recommended by our staffers and critics. But if you’re into this and want to read about books all year round, subscribe to the books newsletter!

Black Friday stories you may have missed

It’s gift-giving season, and some consumer and child advocacy groups are raising concerns about the latest buzz-worthy AI toys

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The nonprofit children’s safety organization Fairplay is urging gift-givers to refrain from purchasing AI toys for kids this holiday season. In an advisory, Fairplay and other child and consumer advocacy groups highlight the potential dangers of toys such as interactive dolls and children’s robots designed to mimic human behavior and engage with kids as if they are friends. The advisory points out that these toys exploit children’s trust and can disrupt human relationships, among other negative effects.

Muralist Maxx Moses is putting the “Black” in Black Friday. For the second year in a row, he’s hosting the Black Friday Artists Market at the Graffiti Gardens in San Diego. Moses painted the walls of the studio, which he uses to partner with local organizations. The market will feature a diverse group of emerging and established local artists, aiming to celebrate Black culture, community and economics. (via KPBS)

This holiday shopping season, expect deep discounts as retailers aim to encourage cautious shoppers to splurge. The National Retail Federation predicts a record-breaking season, with Americans projected to spend over $1 trillion on gifts, food, and decorations, reflecting a growth rate of about 4% — similar to last year.

Now that the Thanksgiving excitement is over, it is time for millions of Americans to make that long trek home. For some, the trip means dealing with car sickness. If you are one of those people, don’t fret, NPR’s How To Do Everything podcast has the guidance you need to make the ride better.

Weekend picks

Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value.

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Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿 Movies: In Sentimental Value, a well-known filmmaker works on his next feature while he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughters. According to Pop Culture Happy Hour, his endeavor highlights the complexity between art and parenthood.

📺 TV: This week marked the beginning of the end for Netflix’s 1980s-set horror drama Stranger Things. But will this final season provide a satisfying conclusion? Here’s what NPR critic Eric Deggans has to say. (Warning: there are spoilers ahead).

📚 Books: Do you really need MORE recommendations after Andrew Limbong’s essay? If the answer is yes, check out four books that were released this week, which range from a deep dive into crosswords to a posthumous collection of short stories.

🎵 Music: Now that Thanksgiving is over, as Mariah Carey famously says, “It’s time…” to turn on the holiday music. Download the NPR app today and explore our special collection of holiday music streams from across the NPR network, from the perfect soundtrack for your next party to the finest holiday jazz.

🍽️ Food: Are leftovers taking over your fridge today? Chef Kathy Gunst offers recipes to help transform them into something possibly even better than when you first ate them.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.