NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-06-2025 3AM EST

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

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Okay, so does this sound like you? You love NPR's podcasts, you wish you could get more of all your favorite shows, and you want to support NPR's mission to create a more informed public. If all that sounds appealing, then it is time to sign up for the NPR Plus bundle. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. A major winter storm that's hammered many central states this weekend is now over the mid-Atlantic. Weather officials say the nation's capital and the surrounding region could get as much as a foot of snow before it's all done.

Almost the entire state of Kentucky, meanwhile, has been affected by the storm. Karen Zarr with Member Station WUKY reports from Lexington. Layers of snow, sleet and freezing rain have been dumped across Kentucky since Sunday morning. Governor Andy Beshear has been monitoring the storm from the state's Emergency Operations Center. We're getting what they call an ice sandwich, very technical term, that is snow and then ice and then snow again. Beshear says he's increasing the number of Kentucky National Guard units deployed to assist from 100 to nearly 400. This is a significant event and I want to make sure that we have the resources all over

Kentucky. Government offices, businesses and schools across the state are closed today. For NPR News, I'm Karen Zarr in Lexington. Authorities say the man who killed 14 people in a New Year's Day attack in New Orleans visited Egypt and Canada in 2023. They also say he visited New Orleans in the months before his rampage. Aidan McCahill with Member Station WWNO has more. The FBI says Shamsoud Dinjabar, an Army veteran from Houston, traveled to Cairo, Egypt and Ontario, Canada. And authorities are trying to understand where he went, who he met with, and what it meant

for the attack. During his two New Orleans visits last fall, Jabbar used meta-smart glasses to record his videos of the French Quarter. Hours before driving his truck down Bourbon Street, Jabbar placed two remote-controlled explosive devices in the area, which he intended to detonate during the attack. Joshua Jackson is with the ATF. So we believe that the transmitter would have functioned, but for New Orleans PD, putting him down before he could get access to that transmitter. The FBI says so far, their investigation has found the suspect did not have an accomplice in the US or overseas.

For NPR News, I'm Aidan McCahill in New Orleans. The US Army said over the weekend that the Colorado man who detonated explosives in front of a Las Vegas hotel last week showed no signs of mental distress before he went on leave. Colorado Public Radio's Allison Sherry reports. In late December, Master Sergeant Matthew Littlesberger rented a Tesla cyber truck in Denver and drove to Las Vegas. On New Year's Day, he shot himself and detonated a bed full of explosives in front of the Trump Hotel.

Over the weekend, the Pentagon said they have a program that provides physical, cognitive, and medical support services to those in need, and that Littlesberger had taken advantage of their programs. But they also said he didn't display any quote concerning behaviors late last year before he was granted personal leave. Las Vegas police and federal officials both continue to investigate what happened. For NPR News, I'm Allison Sherry in Denver. And you're listening to NPR News. South Korea's anti-corruption agency has asked police to enforce an arrest warrant for President

Yun Suk-yeol. They're investigating Yun's implementation of martial law last month. The agency tried to arrest Yun on Friday, but their investigators were pushed away by guards loyal to the president. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul this weekend and responded to questions about Yoon's impeachments. We've got serious concerns about some of the actions that President Yoon took. We communicated those directly to the government. At the same time, we have tremendous confidence in the

resilience of South Korea's democracy. The latest jobs data and minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve will be top of mind for investors on Wall Street as they return to a full trading week after the holiday period. MPR's Rafael Nam has more. The first major economic report of the new year is coming on Friday with the latest monthly data on employment. The jobs market has been one of the bright spots for the economy, but it has been slowing

in recent months. A good economy is of course good for Wall Street, but there is one downside for investors. It could allow the Fed to keep interest rates higher for longer as it continues to bring down inflation. In December, the Fed cut rates for a third consecutive time but signaled it was expecting only two cuts this year. We'll get more of their thinking when the Fed releases the minutes from that meeting on Wednesday. Rafael now, NPR News. And I'm Dale Willman you're listening to NPR News.