NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-06-2025 12AM 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, I'm Dale Willman. 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. As 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 earlier 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 meta glasses 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. New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell, meanwhile, has asked the White House to increase protections ahead of the upcoming Super Bowl and Mardi Gras season. Aidan McCahill from Member Station WWNO has more. Just days after a man drove through the French Quarter killing 14 people and injuring dozens more, Mayor Cantrell requested federal help. She wants the government to provide a tactical expert to map vulnerable security areas in the city and address concerns about a proposed street barrier system that has faced scrutiny.

What we're wanting to do is to ensure that that boots on the ground with that expert advice to determine whether or not these ballers that you're talking about are sufficient. She also wants permanent federal protection for Mardi Gras. Federal ATF officials are expected to remain in New Orleans through the Super Bowl in Mardi Gras day on March 4th. President Biden will meet with the mayor and governor on Monday. For NPR News, I'm Aidan McCahill in New Orleans. Newly re-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson says winter weather will not delay the certification of the November presidential election results this week.

A blast of snow, ice, wind and cold has been hitting the central U.S. this weekend and it's now moving into the mid-Atlantic states as well as the nation's capital. In Indiana, the National Guard has been activated to help stranded motorists. Following a number of legal challenges, New York City finally launched its congestion pricing system today. The program charges most drivers entering the busiest section of Manhattan $9. It's meant to reduce traffic as well as raise money for improvements to the city's mass transit system. Geno Lieber heads the city's transportation system. He says the pricing will take a lot of time to get used to. This is a toll system like has never been tried before in terms of complexity.

It's not like when you just roll under one set of cameras on a highway. We've got to go through a whole process where we identify when you came in, what type of vehicle, do you have an exemption? And you're listening to NPR News. Heavy snow and freezing rain has caused widespread disruptions across Europe. Several airports in the UK were shut down Saturday night and many roads across the region have been closed. A number of UK train services were also cancelled.

In Germany, Frankfurt's airport cancelled 120 flights on Sunday while only one runway was open at Munich Airport. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut says he plans to reintroduce legislation this session to protect children on social media. Molly Ingram from Member Station WSHU has more. Blumenthal first introduced the Kids Online Safety Act with Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn in 2022. It overwhelmingly passed the Senate last summer, but House Speaker

Mike Johnson refused to call a vote in the House, citing free speech concerns. Blumenthal says the bill would impose a duty of care on social media companies as well as force them to let users opt out of algorithms and strengthen their privacy settings. We need to pass the Kids Online Safety Act to give parents tools and young people controls so that addictive, destructive content on bullying, eating disorders, self-harm can be stopped. Molly Ingram, NPR News, Fairfield, Connecticut. President Joe Biden has signed a bill

that will boost Social Security retirement payments for some retirees who draw public pensions. The White House calls the bill the first expansion of such benefits in 20 years. The Social Security Fairness Act repeals provisions that can reduce benefits for people who also receive a pension, including police officers, postal workers, and firefighters. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.