NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-06-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Korva Coleman. Congress meets today to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election. This is required by the Constitution. That process was interrupted four years ago when then-President Trump urged others to overturn the results. President Biden spoke to a small group of incoming Democratic lawmakers last night. He told them to remember that day. Now it's your duty to tell the truth, to remember what happened and not let January 6th be rewritten as a or even erased to honor the Constitution, not only in the most extraordinary of days but it's one of the toughest days in American history, January 6th. President Biden is going to New Orleans today. The White House says he and First Lady Jill Biden will grieve for the victims and their family members of last week's attack on Bourbon Street. Fourteen people were killed and dozens injured when a man drove a truck

into crowds of people celebrating New Year's. Conditions are deteriorating from Missouri to Delaware as a major winter storm pounds parts of the central and eastern U.S. The National Weather Service says these regions will get some of the heaviest snowfall they've seen in a decade. There are winter storm warnings in parts, or all, of about a dozen states. That includes most of Kentucky. From Member Station WUKY, Karen Zahr reports. 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. CNN faces a defamation trial today in Florida. A security contractor alleges he lost millions of dollars after CNN's reporting in 2021. And Piers David Folkenflick explains. Afghans told CNN they feared being extorted by people offering to get their relatives out of Afghanistan after the tumultuous takeover by the Taliban. Zachary Young was the only contractor named in the piece, which featured claims of exorbitant prices and a big caption reading, Black Market. CNN later apologized for using that last term. Court documents show CNN editors had reservations at the time about whether the network's reporting adequately backed up its story. Outside legal experts tell NPR those are red flags. CNN

says Young's claims are groundless, that he lied to its journalists and that they could not confirm he had carried out any such evacuations. Lawsuits against the press are increasingly common. President-elect Donald Trump and his aides have made clear they intend to pressure the news media, including in the courts. David Folkenflick, NPR News. You're listening to NPR. The body of former President Jimmy Carter will continue to lie in repose today at the Carter Center in Atlanta.

Tomorrow, his body will be escorted to Washington, D.C., ahead of his state funeral on Thursday. Carter died last week at the age of 100. Across the country, outbreaks of norovirus are spiking. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports holiday travel and lack of hand washing probably helped it spread farther. 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. Holiday travel and family gatherings may be contributing to recent outbreaks. Yukinoguchi, NPR News. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is going on trial today in Paris over alleged campaign finance violations. Sarkozy is accused of accepting millions of dollars from Libya's late dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, for his successful 2007 presidential campaign.

Sarkozy has denied the charges his lawyer says they're fabricated. This is NPR.