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

Episode Date: January 5, 2025

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Noor Ram. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Ram. Donald Trump becomes president again in 15 days. House Speaker Mike Johnson says he wants to do all he can to jumpstart his agenda. He told Fox News, a priority, extend the Trump tax cuts. We've got to revive the U.S. economy, and we can. We know how to do it. Part of that is preventing the largest tax increase in U.S. history, which would happen

automatically at the end of next year if we don't get our ducks in a row. So we're going to make sure that happens. We're going to incentivize American companies to manufacture in the U.S. again. And we're going to make sure that the regulatory burden and the red tape that is smothered, our free market is reduced and eliminated. And we're going to be dismantling the deep state all along the way. Tomorrow, January 6, Congress counts the electoral votes and certifies that Trump won the presidential election. Johnson hopes a predicted snowstorm won't discourage attendance. He says, blizzard or not, Congress must make sure this is done. Four years ago, Trump supporters disrupted

the process by storming the Capitol. Warnings and advisories are in place from Colorado to the mid-Atlantic for a dangerous winter storm crossing the Midwest and headed towards the East Coast. Karen Zarr with Member Station WUKY reports. Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Saturday before the storm hit and urged Kentuckians to stay home, except for emergency travel over the next few days. Beshear also activated Kentucky National Guard units to assist the State Transportation Department. They're going to be in armories throughout Kentucky with heavy equipment to be ready

to help in that backup or ready to help stranded motorists. The governor also activated the Kentucky Emergency Operations Center, which went live at midnight, and price gouging laws are now in effect. For NPR News, I'm Karen Zarr in Lexington. The Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta will be open around the clock until Tuesday morning to give members of the public the chance to pay their last respects to Jimmy Carter, who's lying in repose there. Jason Carter said his grandfather may be gone, but his work continues.

And to the people at the Carter Center, you continue the vibrant living legacy of what is my grandfather's life's work, really. Carter is to lie in state this week at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington before his funeral Thursday morning. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on what's expected to be his last foreign trip in office. He arrived at his first stop, Seoul, South Korea today, which in the midst of political turmoil. President Yoon Suk-yeol has been impeached and there's a warrant out for his arrest for his brief declaration of martial law last month. His security service won't allow Yun to be taken into custody and the arrest warrant

to authorize that expires tomorrow. This is NPR News in Washington. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney met with President-elect Trump at his Florida resort last night, the latest foreign leader to do so. Maloney's right-wing coalition has led Italy since 2022. Residents of Santa Cruz are celebrating the reopening of their wharf, two weeks after record swells battered the California coast and sheared off 150 feet of the wooden pier. Nick Altenberg from member station KQED reports. The wharf was bustling with

people just hours after reopening Saturday. The nearly half-mile pier is important for the local economy and beloved by locals. The section that broke off was in the middle of repairs stemming from damage caused by last winter's storms. Norm Daley is one of three workers who were inspecting the repair work when nearly 20 foot waves picked up the end of the pier and tore it off. He says the effects of climate change present a challenge for the city. I think the wharf is well suited to survive most impacts. It's hard to tell exactly what those impacts are going to be. But in the

moment the wharf is 100 percent safe. City leaders say the wharf may need to be reimagined with climate change top of mind. For NPR News, I'm Nick Altenberg in Santa Cruz, California. A vigil was held on Bourbon Street in New Orleans last night to remember those who died in the early hours of New Year's Day. A man drove a pickup truck into a crowd, killing 14 people. The driver was killed in a shootout with police. He's been identified as a former U.S. Army soldier who posted his support for the Islamic State militant group ISIS online.

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