NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-01-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: January 1, 2025

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JANENE HURST, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, WASHINGTON. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. In New Orleans, the FBI is investigating the deadly pickup truck attack on Bourbon Street as an act of terrorism and says the suspect likely didn't act alone. Matt Blum of Member Station WWNO reports at least 10 people died, dozens 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. Russia hit Ukraine's capital early today with a drone attack that left one person dead, several others injured. NPR's Brian Mann has more from Kyiv. Kyiv's anti-aircraft weapons began to fire just before dawn as the buzz of Russian drones could be heard overhead. Russian attacks like this one have been part of daily life for Ukrainian civilians for nearly three years. 24-year-old Yaroslav Meschkov says he's not hopeful for peace in 2025. I think I do not have a lot of hopes. Maybe that Ukraine will be existing next year and that will be

great and that my friends will be alive. More young Ukrainians are being recruited to fight in the war as the country tries to remedy a desperate shortage of soldiers. Russia's army is making gains along the Eastern Front. Brian Mann, NPR News, Kyiv. There are a few million more residents of the U.S. this New Year's Day than last year's New Year's Day. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports the Census Bureau is projecting more than 341 million people live in the U.S. The Census Bureau's population estimate is based on births, deaths, and international

migration, and it's extremely precise. Lauren Bowers, chief of the Bureau's Population Estimates Branch, says the projected number of people living in the U.S. today is... 341,145,670 people. And here's what we can expect throughout January, says Bowers. One birth every nine seconds and one death every 9.4 seconds. And add another person every 23 seconds through international migration. It makes the U.S. the third most populous nation in the world, following India and China. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Chicago.

You're listening to NPR News. Employers in New York now have to offer pregnant workers an additional 20 hours of paid leave to attend medical appointments for prenatal care. Governor Kathy Hochul says the new law makes New York the first state in the country to do so. All pregnant workers in the private sector are eligible for the paid time off and can schedule the paid leave for pregnancy-related medical appointments. Hochul pushed for the measure in the state's last legislative session as a way to help reduce maternal and infant deaths in the state.

It applies to all private sector employers in New York. It's 2025, and it appears Americans still enjoy tuning into an old-fashioned medium for music, the radio. As NPR's Neda Ulubi reports, a new study found that AM, FM radio edged out Apple, Spotify, and other streaming services in the past year. The study by Edison Research says American listeners over the age of 13 spend 32 percent of their listening time on old-fashioned radio and 28 percent of their time on streaming. Now, no matter where they tune in, they might hear one of 2024's top singles, Lose Control by Teddy Swims. According to Edison Research, the reliance on radio is driven still by people in their cars. It says overall, listeners spend nearly three-quarters of

their audio time listening to music. That leaves a mere quarter for podcasts, audiobooks, and, well, NPR. Neda Ulibi, NPR News. J.D. Wall Street was closed today in observance of the New Year's holiday. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.