NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-06-2025 11AM EST

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Korva Coleman. A powerful winter storm is lumbering across parts of the Central and Eastern U.S. Winter storm warnings are up from Illinois to New Jersey, and some areas will get a lot of snow. They'll also get freezing rain and ice, blustery winds and frigid temperatures. There are power outages reported. More than a quarter million customers don't have power in Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia. Washington, D West Virginia. Washington D.C. could get up to a foot of snow. Despite the weather, members of Congress

will meet today to certify Donald Trump's win in the November presidential election. And Pierre's Luke Garrett has more. House Speaker Mike Johnson tells Fox News Mother Nature will not delay the certification of President-elect Donald Trump's victory. The Electoral Count Act requires this on January 6th at 1 p.m. So whether we're in a blizzard or not, we are going to be in that chamber making sure this is done. Johnson's message to fellow House members is clear.

We encourage all of our colleagues, do not leave town, stay here. The House speaker says he hopes for full attendance despite the storm. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says city resources will be used to help clear snow for members of Congress ahead of election certification. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. North Korea has fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile today. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting South Korea. We condemn yet another violation of multiple Security Council resolutions with the reported

missile launch." South Korean officials say the missile flew hundreds of miles east and landed in the sea. Blinken's trip comes as South Korea faces a political crisis. Impeached President Yun Sang-yol briefly declared martial law last month before rescinding that. The country is being governed by an acting president. NPR has learned that Hamas has named a group of Israeli hostages in Gaza that it is willing to release as part of a ceasefire deal under negotiation. As NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv, the group includes two U.S. citizens. The deal being negotiated in Qatar would have Hamas release 34 Israeli hostages, according to

a Hamas official, and Israel would release some Palestinian prisoners and partially withdraw troops from Gaza. Israel wants to know which of the 34 hostages are still alive. A Hamas official tells NPR that the group will reveal that in exchange for unspecified concessions. The hostages under discussion include female soldiers, other women, and about two dozen men, including two American hostages. Another official close to the talks, also speaking on condition of anonymity, says Hamas will not release all hostages in Gaza because Israel will only agree

to a temporary ceasefire. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. The body of former President Jimmy Carter will continue to lie in repose today at the Carter Center in Atlanta. He will be escorted to Washington, D.C. tomorrow. Carter's state funeral is set for Thursday. On Wall Street, the Dow is up more than 200 points. You're listening to NPR News. Two companies, Nip on Steel and U.S. Steel, are filing suit against the Biden administration.

They're challenging President Biden's decision last week to block Nippon Steel's purchase of U.S. steel. Biden said he stopped it because a domestically owned and operated steel industry is vital to national security interests. The steel companies reject that and say it was a political choice. It's the first full week that big tech company Amazon expects corporate workers back in the office every day. The five-day return to office policy ends the work-from-home era at Amazon.

From member station KUOW in Seattle, Monica Nicholsburg has more. Amazon's Seattle campus was still lit up with Christmas lights the day the new policy took effect. On his way into work, Marc Labrie said he sees returning to the office as his civic duty. We're a thriving economy that requires exchange of economic goods and transactions between all of us in order to keep the fire going. Many hope the policy will be a shot in the arm for businesses surrounding Amazon's headquarters.

Downtowns are still struggling to recover from the loss of commuters who started working from home during the pandemic. But many Amazon employees say a five-day return to office policy is unfair now that they've shown they can be productive at home. For NPR News, I'm Monica Nicholsburg in Seattle. Amazon is a financial supporter of NPR. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

says he will step down from his position. He is leaving his post as the head of the Liberal Party. Other Liberal Party members in Canada have warned that their party might not win a new election against the opposition conservatives. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Fresh air? Up first. NPR News Now, Planet Money, Ted Radio Hour, ThruLine, the NPR Politics Podcast, Code Switch, Embedded, Books We Love, Wildcard... are just some of the podcasts you can enjoy sponsor-free with NPR+. Get all sorts of perks across more than 20 podcasts with the bundle option. Learn more at plus.npr.org.