NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-03-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: January 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. House Speaker Mike Johnson was narrowly reelected to the position after initially falling two votes short. Johnson and his allies worked to convince two members to switch their votes, delivering him the 218 necessary to be reelected on the first ballot. NPR's Deirdre Walsh explains the behind-the-scenes wrangling. Initially this vote that has been open for more than an hour and a half, there were three Republicans who voted for people other than Mike Johnson.

He could only afford one defection. He huddled with two of the three holdouts, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith South of Texas. And those two House Republicans came to the well of the floor, reversed their votes and voted for him. And despite its divisions, Congress may now begin its work. The White House says President Biden will travel to New Orleans Monday to meet with people affected by the New Year's Day truck attack in the city, where 14 people died and

dozens were injured. The funeral for a teenager who was among the 14 is being held today. Brooke Thorington of Member Station WRKF and Baton Rouge has more. Friends and family are gathering at a mosque to pay their respects to Kamir Badawi. Badawi had just finished his first semester at the University of Alabama. He was home visiting friends over the break and they drove to New Orleans to ring in the new year. His death is bringing together those of many faiths. Vidaoui, who was Muslim, graduated from Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge. His football coach said he was a standout athlete. The

Muslim community here says the attack by an Islamic extremist is not representative of their faith or beliefs. For NPR News, I'm Brooke Thorington in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton will pay the federal government nearly 16 million dollars to settle fraud allegations that the company used illegally obtained information to secure defense contracts, Texas Public Radio's Paul Flav reports. Prosecutors said Booz Allen used civilian government contractors to obtain confidential bidding and competitor proposal information to rig the bid in their favor for a flight

simulator contract. In 2023, a San Antonio-based Air Force contractor, Kevin Seguin, was sentenced to 15 years in prison over this scheme. He took bribes to influence $100 million in contracts over 10 years, said investigators. At least three others have been found criminally responsible for the fraud, including two Booz Allen Engineering Services

program managers. The mega defense contractor admitted no legal liability in this settlement. It's at least the second settlement over False Claims Act's violations for the company that agreed to pay nearly $400 million to the government in 2023. I'm Paul Flav in San Antonio. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 298 points. This is NPR News in Washington. Alcohol consumption is a leading preventable cause of cancer linked to about 20,000 cancer

deaths per year, according to a new warning from the U.S. Surgeon General. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports on proposed guidelines changes. More than two-thirds of adults in the U.S. report having at least one drink or more per week, but Surgeon General Vivek Morthy says what many don't realize is that alcohol can increase the risk of breast and colorectal cancer, as well as cancers of the mouth, throat esophagus and liver. The science has been building for years, creating greater and greater certainty about more and more types of cancer.

The precise amount of alcohol that may increase a person's risk is not clear. It's linked to a range of factors including genetics and family history. Current U.S. guidelines recommend no more than one drink a day for women, two for men. A review of the evidence underway now could lead to revisions later this year. Alison Aubrey, NPR News. American women's rugby player and Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Mar became a social media sensation during the games in Paris. She went on to the TV show Dancing with the Stars, a runner-up for the show's mirror

ball trophy, and racked up endorsement deals including one from Maybelline Cosmetics. Now Marr has signed up for England's Bristol Bears women's rugby team, and ticket sales there have been record breaking. The 28-year-old Marr will be on the bench Sunday as close to 8,000 fans are expected for the games in Bristol, England. They say they've never sold that many tickets for a game. I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.