NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-05-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: January 5, 2025

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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. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman.

Members of the public will pay their respects to former president Jimmy Carter until Tuesday morning at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta. NPR's Stephen Thaller reports that Carter is now lying in repose after a ceremony honoring his humanitarian work. Carter's first funeral service Saturday was held in front of staff members who worked at his presidential library and his nonprofit Carter Center, where he spent more than 40 years

after the White House fighting to advance democracy and advance public health goals. His grandson, Jason Carter, said their work honors his legacy. We will spend this week celebrating this incredible life, and a life that I think we can all agree is as full and powerful as any life can be. As someone said, it's amazing what you can cram into 100 years. Carter will lie in repose until Tuesday before traveling to Washington,

DC for services at the US Capitol and Washington National Cathedral. Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta. A massive winter storm is beginning to hit more than two dozen states in the U.S. The National Weather Service says heavy snowfall, icy conditions, sleet and rain are expected to hit the central plains, the mid-Atlantic region and southern U.S. over the next several days. And as NPR's Amansi Khurana reports, 62 million Americans are in the path of the storm. This year's first major winter storm is predicted to bring blizzard-like conditions to the central

plains on Sunday. There's expected to be at least eight inches of snow from central Kansas to Indiana. The storm will reach the East Coast by Sunday night. Travel delays are possible, especially if rain begins to freeze into ice. This can also make road conditions dangerous and power outages can occur. Severe thunderstorms are expected to roll into the south on Sunday. Mansi Khurana, NPR News. Hundreds of people rallied once again outside Israel's Defense Ministry on Saturday night

to call for the release of hostages held by Hamas. Zahiro Shahar-Mor was in Hostage Square where he called for the U.S. to help end the 456 days of captivity. We'd like to address President-elect Donald Trump. Mr. President, sir, do not agree to a partial hostage deal. That is a confirmed death sentence to those left behind. In Qatar, meanwhile, the on-again, off-again ceasefire talks are back on this weekend with officials from the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar mediating those talks. President Joe Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom today to 19 of the most famous names in politics, sports, and more. Among those to receive the honor were former Secretary of State Hillary

Clinton, Democratic philanthropist George Soros, Magic Johnson, Bono, and actor-director Denzel Washington. The White House says the recipients have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the US. This is NPR News. Poland has taken over the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. It's a six-month position last held by Euroskeptic Hungary. As Terry Schultz reports, the next six months are going to be key in the EU's future relationships

with both Moscow and Washington. Hosting a gala celebration in Warsaw to kick off his country's turn at the EU Council presidency, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk urged his fellow European leaders to band together against the challenges of an aggressive Russia and a US that's seen as unpredictable under President-elect Donald Trump. We have every reason to become a strong Europe again, he said. Poland is prepared for this task. The EU is worried that after his January 20th inauguration, Trump will quickly go through

with threats to dramatically reduce aid to Ukraine, Poland's neighbor, and to impose trade tariffs on goods coming from the EU. The US is the European Union's biggest trading partner. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. Police in Pakistan say a blast from an improvised explosive device in the country's southwest has killed one person and wounded at least 35 others. A separatist group called the Baloch Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the attack and said they were targeting a military convoy. The device was in a car by the side of the road and was detonated remotely. Pope Francis says bullying in schools prepares students for war rather than peace. The pontiff made his comments in a speech to Catholic educators

at the Vatican on Saturday. Francis asked those in attendance to pledge to fight against bullying both at school and in the home, and he also called for more dialogue within families. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.