NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-01-2025 7PM 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. The number of people who died when a man in a pickup truck rammed a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans last night has risen. The FBI says there are now at least 15 people confirmed dead and dozens injured. In Pierce Ryan Lucas reports, the FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism. The FBI says the truck slammed into the crowd on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street at around

3.15 in the morning local time. The driver then got out of the truck and opened fire on police, who returned fire, killing the driver. The FBI has identified the suspect as 42-year-old Shamsadeen Jobber, a U.S. citizen from Texas. The Bureau says an ISIS flag was found in the truck, and investigators are working to determine Jobber's potential links with terrorist groups. Investigators also found weapons and a potential homemade bomb in the truck, as well as other potential homemade bombs elsewhere in the city's French Quarter. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. And tonight's college football Sugar Bowl in New Orleans has been postponed until

tomorrow at 3 p.m. because of this attack. NPR Chandeliers duster has more. Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hunley told reporters that the game between the Notre Dame fighting Irish and Georgia Bulldogs would move to Thursday. We have been in consultation with ESPN, with the college football playoff, with the Southeastern Conference, with the University of Georgia, with Notre Dame. All parties and all agree that it's in the best interests of everybody in public safety That we postpone the game officials from both universities say they are praying for those affected by the attack The University of Georgia says a student was critically injured in the attack and is receiving medical treatment

Chandelis Duster NPR news Las Vegas police are investigating an explosion of a Tesla cyber truck outside the Trump Hotel this morning. They killed one person in the truck and injured several others. It's not clear if the fire was an accident or an intentional act. Russia halted its last major pipeline, providing Russian gas directly to Europe after Russia and Ukraine failed to reach an agreement to renew a gas transit deal. And here's Charles Maynes reports.

Charles Maynes It may surprise to hear that Russia has continued to export natural gas to Europe through Ukraine. Despite Russia's invasion of its neighbor in 2022, the continued flow came thanks to a five-year transit agreement between Moscow and Kiev that expired January 1st. In announcing the stoppage, Russian energy giant Gazprom blamed Ukraine for refusing to renew the transit deal. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had long warned Europe of the cutoff, saying Ukraine would no longer allow Russia to quote earn additional billions on our blood. Europe sharply decreased its dependence on Russian gas in the wake of the war in Ukraine, but

several countries including Austria, Slovakia and Hungary still rely heavily on Russian supply. Charles Maines, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. In Puerto Rico, power has been restored for about three-quarters of the one and a half million customers who were 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. New laws are now in effect in California, designed to curb crime in the state. Megan Mykowsky with CAP Radio has more from Sacramento. Together, the new California laws make it easier to combine similar crimes and charges, even across jurisdictions. They also raise penalties for felonies, including for damage dundring retail theft. And they make it a crime to break into an unlocked car and add

new requirements for third-party sellers on websites like Amazon. Democrats proposed many of the new crime laws after a measure increasing penalties and treatment requirements for theft and drug-related crimes made it to the ballot. That passed with 70% of voters in support. For NPR News, I'm Megan Myzkowski. 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. That's down more than 3% from 2023.

U.S. futures contracts are trading in mixed territory. Dow futures are flat. NASDAQ futures are up one-tenth of a percent. 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.