NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-05-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: January 6, 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 in Washington, I'm Amy Held. President Biden will be in New Orleans

tomorrow to pay tribute to the 14 people killed and dozens injured in a New Year's Day attack. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports the FBI says the man who rammed a truck into revelers on Bourbon Street after pledging allegiance to ISIS had recently visited the city. The FBI is giving a more detailed timeline of Shamsuddin Jabbar's activities ahead of the deadly attack. New Orleans special agent in charge, Lionel Myrthal, says Jabbar made trips to the city in October and November, seemingly scouting his target. During that time, Jabbar, using using meta glasses recorded a video as he rode through the French Quarter on a bicycle. Meta glasses appear to look like

regular glasses, but they allow a user to record videos and photos hand free. Agents say the evidence still indicates that Jabbar acted alone, but they're unsure why he targeted New Orleans. Debbie Elliott, NPR News. A major winter storm is bringing blizzard conditions to parts of the Midwest and significant snow and ice eastward to the Mid-Atlantic. NPR's Chandelis Duster reports.

Winter storm warnings are in effect, with snow, ice, and freezing rain already falling in Great Plains states. Wintry weather is causing dangerous travel conditions. Kansas Highway Patrol Officer Trooper Ben Gardner says they have responded to more than 200 calls for help on highways since Saturday morning. At least one was a fatal crash. We have first responders actively helping and responding to calls.

And KDOTs out here are trying to get the roadways cleared, salting and blading the roadways. And we will continue to do so as the storm moves through our state. Officials are warning those in the path of the storm to stay home and follow weather alerts. Shandilyce Duster, NPR News. Syria's foreign minister has called on the U.S. to lift sanctions imposed on the country to punish the former Assad regime. He says those sanctions are now punishing Syrians impoverished by years of war. NPR's Diya Hadid has this report from Damascus. Diya Hadid Syria's Foreign Minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani, spoke during a visit to the Gulf state of Qatar, which has been aiding the new interim

government. It's headed by Ahmad al-Sharah since his rebels overran Damascus in early December, toppling the decades-old Assad regime. The Syrian interim government has repeatedly called on the US to lift sanctions that were imposed to punish the Assad regime. They say they urgently need aid to flow to Syrians, most of whom live in poverty. There's also an urgent need for reconstruction after the former regime flattened swaths of major cities in its quest to destroy rebels opposed to its rule. That call to lift sanctions has also been echoed by senior foreign policy analysts on

Syria. NPR News, Damascus. This is NPR News. Starting today, New York City's controversial congestion pricing program is in effect. Drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan will pay up to $9. It's meant to cut traffic and raise money for infrastructure improvements. Jan O'Lieber, who heads the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, says it's a first-of-its-kind system reliant on cameras. Jan O'Lieber, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Director, U.S. Department of Transportation 14 hundred cameras, over 110 detection points, separate detection points on the borders of

the congestion zone. LORI GRIFFIN, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation Commuters from the suburbs have opposed the charges. A lawsuit by officials in New Jersey failed to halt the program. American rugby star Ilona Mar made her debut for a team on the other side of the Atlantic today in the UK. And as Vicki Barker reports from London, she's causing a stir and bringing in new followers and new fans to what has historically been a male-dominated sport. Ticket sales soared when the Bristol Bears

announced they'd signed Alona Marr to a three-month contract. And the Premiership women's rugby match had to be moved to a larger venue to accommodate fans. The Vermont native has been called the most followed rugby player, male or female, on the planet. She's racked up millions of followers with her TikTok and Instagram posts stressing body positivity. Her message that you can be 200 pounds of muscle and power and also celebrate your femininity has won her a big fan base in the UK. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. This is NPR News. What's in store for the music, TV, and film industries for 2025? We don't know. in London. This is NPR News.