NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-01-2025 10PM EST

Episode Date: January 2, 2025

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What's in store for the music, TV and film industries for 2025? We don't know, but we're making some fun, bold predictions for the new year. Listen now to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. In brief remarks from Camp David tonight, President Biden calls the deadly truck attack in New Orleans a fluid situation, and he says Americans stand behind the people in the city. To all the families of those who were killed, to all those who were injured, to all the people of New Orleans who are grieving today, I want you to know I grieve with you. Our nation grieves with you. The death toll has

risen to at least 15 in that deadly attack. The FBI says it's investigating the incident on Bourbon Street as an act of terrorism and says the suspect likely didn't act alone. Matt Bloom of Member Station WWNO reports dozens of others were injured. Federal investigators say Army veteran Shamsud Din-Jabbar drove a rented pickup truck down Bourbon Street as hundreds of New Year's Eve revelers were celebrating. Police killed the 42-year-old Texas resident during a shootout and afterwards discovered an improvised explosive device and an ISIS flag attached to the vehicle. In a press conference with federal and local officials, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy

called the act objective evil. If this doesn't trigger the gag reflex of every American, every fair-minded American, I'll be very surprised. Investigators say they identified at least two other explosive devices in the French Quarter and have since neutralized them. Officials declined to answer questions about whether they had identified any additional suspects. For NPR News, I'm Matt Bloom in New Orleans. And President Biden says law enforcement

and intelligence officials are looking into whether an explosion of a cyber Tesla truck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas this morning that killed one person and injured several others is connected to the New Orleans attack. Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMill says it's believed to be an isolated incident, but he says they haven't ruled out a connection to New Orleans. He says there's a video of what appears to be smoke coming from the Tesla cyber truck and then the vehicle explodes.

So those are gasoline canisters. They are camp fuel canisters, and large firework mortars. He says the truck was rented in Colorado and arrived in Vegas this morning. In a post on X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk says the explosion is due to those fireworks and gas canisters and is unrelated to the rented Cybertruck. On Capitol Hill, the House is scheduled to vote Friday, the start of the 119th Congress, on a new rules package that would make it harder to oust a speaker. Lawmakers are expected to adopt the package after electing a speaker. Some Republicans are angry that current speaker Mike Johnson had to enlist the votes of Democrats to get certain bills passed, including the

short-term spending bill last month to keep the government open through mid-March. President-elect Trump has thrown his support behind Johnson. You're listening to NPR News. In Puerto Rico, power has been restored for about three-quarters of the one-and-a-half million customers who are plunged into the dark New Year's Eve. But Luma Energy says customers in the U.S. territory could still see temporary outages in the coming days. Authorities are investigating the cause, but Luma Energy says it was likely a failure in an underground electric line. Unreliable electricity is a continuing problem for the island after its power lines were ravaged in 2017 by Hurricane Maria.

A new California law says schools can no longer require teachers to out LGBTQ students to their parents. Megan Mykovsky with CAP Radio in Sacramento has more. Megan Mykovsky The law is in response to several California school districts enacting policies that require teachers to let parents know if their child identifies with a gender other than what's listed on their school record. For example, if a child indicates at school that they'd like to use different pronouns, school staff would have to alert parents.

The law doesn't prevent teachers from outing students to their parents, as long as they're not forced by their employer. But it does protect them from retaliation if they choose not to share that information or if they teach sexual health education in line with the state's requirements. For NPR News, I'm Megan Myckowski. Movie ticket sales took a bit of a hit last year. Comscore says the annual domestic box office for 2024 is expected to end up at around $8.75 billion, but that's down more than 3% from 2023.

U.S. futures contracts are trading higher at this hour. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington. The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. Workers have been feeling the sting of inflation. So as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest post-election day spike ever, follow all the big changes and what they mean for you. Make America affordable again. Listen to The Indicator, the daily economics podcast from NPR.