NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-06-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

NPR News: 01-06-2025 5AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingly. Snow and ice are moving across a large section of the U.S. Winter storm warnings are in effect from eastern Missouri to Virginia, northward to Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Six to twelve inches of snow are expected over a wide area.

Quinton Lucas is the mayor of Kansas City. We have several hundred trucks that are out on the streets, up to 300, that are addressing issues right now. But as we know, it continues to snow, continues to snow heavily, and so this will be an operation that we expect to continue for several days. Dozens of flight delays and cancellations are being reported this morning at various airports,

mainly along the East Coast. That's according to the tracking service FlightAware. Many school systems are closed today. President Biden is banning new offshore oil and gas drilling along major areas of the East and West Coast of the U.S., as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the northern Bering Sea off Alaska. As NPR's Jeff Brady reports, Biden says the move is part of his effort to address climate change. Jeff Brady, NPR News, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, New York Times, President Biden is issuing protections from future drilling for more than 625 million acres of coastline. The oil industry has not shown a lot of interest in these areas. Still, the American

Petroleum Institute criticized the move and urged Republicans to do all they can to reverse it. That's more difficult because the protections were issued under a 1950s law that gives presidents wide latitude to issue such protections. President-elect Trump has vowed to deregulate oil and gas drilling to boost production, even though the U.S. already produces more oil than any country ever. The environmental group Oceana praised the protection, saying many coastal communities don't want new offshore drilling. Jeff Brady, NPR News. The Mayor of New Orleans is asking the

White House to step up security in the city ahead of the upcoming Super Bowl on Mardi Gras. Aidan McKay-Hill with member station WWNO, says the request by Mayor Latoya Cantrell follows the New Year's Day terror attack in the Bourbon Street area that left more than a dozen people dead. 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. For NPR News, I'm Aidan McCahill in New Orleans. President Biden is scheduled to be in New Orleans today. Louisiana's attorney general says she's launching a full review of the security plan

put in place by the city. This is NPR News. Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. were up 2.7 percent last year. That's according to data from the website Motor Intelligence. It cites lower prices for cars, trucks and SUVs amid reduced interest rates. More than 16 million vehicles were sold nationwide in 2024. That's the most since 2019. The average cost of a new vehicle was more than $47,000.

Congestion toll pricing is now in effect in New York City. Drivers are charged $9 to enter the busiest sections of Manhattan during peak hours. As Bruce Conviser reports, the program began yesterday and is considered the first of its kind in the nation. The state has implemented a fee for drivers entering Manhattan from 60th Street and below. The $9 fee caps a furious debate that raged for decades. New York State says the tax is needed to raise money to upgrade the city's aging mass transit system.

The fees are projected to generate $15 billion in the coming years. In addition, officials argue that fewer cars on the road means reduced CO2 emissions, which will benefit the environment. About 1 million people commute into the city each day during the work week. About two-thirds of them come across the river from New Jersey. The new fees come on top of roughly $16 and tolls drivers already paid across the Hudson River into Manhattan. Critics also question how much traffic and greenhouse gases will be reduced.

For NPR News, I'm Bruce Convyser in New York.