NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-01-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: January 1, 2025

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Do you make resolutions in January? We do. Specifically, we make pop culture resolutions. We also check in on what we resolved to do this last year. Did we catch up on all those classic movies or finally write that novel? Find out on the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Minimum wage hikes take effect in 21 states today. As NPR's Andrea Hsu reports, a third of U.S. workers now live in states with a minimum wage of $15 an hour or more. The latest states to hit a $15 minimum wage are Delaware, Illinois, and Rhode Island.

The new wage floors there and elsewhere are expected to raise the wages of more than nine million people according to the Economic Policy Institute. Women make up almost 60% of workers getting raises on January 1st. Hispanic workers make up more than a third. Most full-time minimum wage earners are expected to earn about $400 more per year. Researchers say the additional earnings are meant to ensure workers don't lose ground as prices rise. But in many states, including those that follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, workers don't have that protection.

Andrea Hsu, NPR News. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station wished the world a happy new year from space. In a message yesterday, Butch Wilmore noted the crew gets to celebrate more than once. We'll get to go around the planet here every 90 minutes, so we'll get 16 New Year celebrations here on the International Space Station. Wilmore is one of two astronauts who's been stranded in space for six months. He arrived in the space station aboard the Boeing Starliner on what was supposed to be

about a week-long mission, but problems kept the Starliner from making the return trip as planned. Now, Wilmore and Sonny Williams won't return to Earth until at least next month. Early this morning, Russia stopped natural gas shipments to Europe through pipelines in Ukraine after an agreement expired. Ukraine has stopped buying Russian gas in 2015 after an agreement expired. Ukraine had stopped buying Russian gas in 2015 after Russia seized Crimea. Officials have said it would not extend the deal to allow Russian gas be moved through Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion of that country nearly

three years ago. Poland assumes the presidency of the European Union for the next six months with security at the type of its agenda. The BBC's Sarah Rainsford has more. Poland inherits the EU presidency with its voice louder, more listened to in the bloc than ever and its strong support for Ukraine will remain a top priority. The government here will continue to push Moscow to end its full-scale invasion whilst pushing the EU to maximise military and financial aid to Kiev, as Donald Trump is expected to cut support from America. Poland also wants to increase the economic pressure on Russia by adding new sanctions

and trying to stop it sidestepping those already in place. The BBC's Sarah Rainsford, the families of those who died in a plane crash in South Korea visited the site for the first time today. 170 people died when the plane skidded off a runway and crashed while attempting to land on Sunday. Only two people survived. This is NPR News. Chief Justice John Roberts issued his annual report on the judiciary yesterday.

He said the courts are under threat from intimidation, Chief Justice John Roberts issued his annual report on the judiciary yesterday. He said the courts are under threat from intimidation, disinformation, and the possibility of defiance from public officials. He said the other branches of government must be willing to enforce court orders even if they're unpopular. Roberts also noted an increase in violent threats and online intimidation directed at judges. This week's Billboard charts are out and holiday songs have done something they've never done before. NPR's Stephen Thompson reports.

The Christmas season is behind us, which means this may be the last time you hear Santa Tell Me for almost 11 months. But there are still two holiday milestones worth noting from this week's Billboard charts. One, for the first time ever, the entire top ten consists of holiday music. In fact, the top 16 songs are all shouting at us to be of good cheer. That's a product of the streaming era, which has pushed Christmas to the top of the pop charts. Also for the first time ever, a holiday song from this century has hit the Billboard Top 5. You heard it just seconds ago, it's Ariana Grande's Santa Tell Me, which joins Mariah Carey, Brenda

Lee, Wham! and Bobby Helms at the top of the Christmas canon. Stephen Thompson, NPR News. On Wall Street, all the major stock indexes rose in 2024, with tech stocks leading the Thompson, NPR News.