NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-06-2025 12PM EST

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

NPR News: 01-06-2025 12PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Lakshmi Singh. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. In one hour, Congress gathers for a joint session to finalize President-elect Donald Trump as the winner of the 2024 election. The constitutional process of certifying the vote takes place four years after many Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the count to certify then-President-elect Joe Biden. Today will be an extraordinary day for American democracy, says Rick Pildes, an election law expert at NYU. January 6th is the date, if there is one date, at which we witness the peaceful transfer

of power. As president of the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris will oversee the electoral certification today for an election she lost. It is the first certification done under new guidelines passed in 2022 that make it more difficult to disrupt the process. Miles Parks, NPR News, Washington. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced his intention to step down after the Liberal Party selects a new leader, marking the end of his tenure as the country's leader. He shared his much anticipated decision this morning outside his official residence.

A massive winter storm system is bringing blizzard conditions to parts of the East Coast today. NPR's Joel Rose reports a storm is disrupting school work and transportation. Heavy snow and plunging temperatures are creating dangerous travel conditions from the Great Plains to the East Coast. Thousands of flights were canceled or delayed with the highest percentages at airports around Washington DC and Baltimore and Amtrak canceled dozens of trains on the Northeast Corridor. The storm also left a trail of destruction across the Midwest and the South.

Hundreds of thousands of customers were without power from Missouri to Virginia. In Kansas, over a thousand cars were stranded on the road after snowfall trapped them on the interstate. Kansas City International Airport saw a record 11 inches of snow on Sunday. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. At the 2025 Golden Globe Awards last night, actor Demi Moore won her first ever award. She took home the trophy for best actress

in a musical or comedy for her role in The Substance. The movie's about a 50-year-old actress who, after losing her job, takes a drug that's supposed to turn her into an enhanced version of herself. Accepting the award, Moore recalled the advice a woman once gave her, which she believes matches the message of the film. Just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just

put down the measuring stick. And so today I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness and of the love that is driving me and for the gift of doing something I love. Audio of Demi Moore, courtesy of Golden Globes LLC and Dick Clark Productions LLC. The Dow is up 353 points or more than three quarters of a percent. This is NPR News. Across the United States, outbreaks of norovirus are spiking, and PR's Yuki Noguchi reports holiday travel and lack of hand washing helped it spread.

Norovirus is a gastrointestinal illness and is the most common cause of diarrhea and vomiting. Even tiny amounts of virus can then transmit through fresh produce, unwashed hands, or surfaces like kitchen counters. It's particularly difficult to eliminate, especially in environments like hospitals, daycares, kitchens, and long-term care facilities, where people are in close quarters or are sharing food. Hand sanitizer is often not enough to kill the virus, so experts recommend frequent washing of hands with soap and water to prevent spread.

For those who are already sick, experts recommend refraining from caregiving and food preparation for at least 48 hours after symptoms disappear. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News. US Steel and Japan's Nupon Steel are suing the federal government for blocking their merger. They've also filed suit against rival steelmaker Cleveland Cliffs and the president of the Steelworkers Union for attempting to scuttle the $14 billion deal. Last Friday, President Biden issued an order to block the takeover of U.S. Steel

as a matter of national security. He says U.S. Steel needs to remain under domestic control. President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to return to office in two weeks, also opposes the merger. The Nasdaq is up 1.7 percent, the S&P has risen 1.2 percent, and the Dow also up more than three-quarters of a percent. This is NPR News. 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.