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

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A New York judge has denied a request to pause this week's scheduled sentencing for President-elect Donald Trump at his New York hush money trial. Trump's lawyers were pushing for the judge to reverse the decision, which sets a Friday sentencing date on Trump's 34 felony convictions in the case. Judge Juan Roshon rejected Trump's efforts to throw out the verdict and let him return to the White House. While the judge has indicated he's not inclined to impose any jail time or any other criminal penalty,

it does mean Trump would be the first convicted felon ever to assume the U.S. presidency. Lawyers for convicted Proud Boys leader Henry Enrique Tario are renewing their request for a presidential pardon. The NPR's Kerry Johnson reports Tario has been serving a 22-year prison sentence. DC juries convicted Enrique Tarrio and several other members of the far-right Proud Boys group of seditious conspiracy for their role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol four years

ago. Tarrio's lawyer says he's not an extremist, but rather a quote, proud American who believes in true conservative values. The lawyers making a new appeal to President-elect Trump, who says he wants to pardon at least some of the defendants convicted in the Capitol riot. Tarrio has been held in special housing units during his incarceration, limiting his interaction with other prisoners and his movements outside a prison cell. Tarrio's lawyer says that kind of isolation can lead to major mental health problems.

Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. President Joe Biden is in New Orleans, Louisiana today, serving his role as consular-in-chief as residents of that city, trying to recover from a deadly New Year's terror attack that claimed the lives of 14 people. An Army veteran apparently inspired by ISIS plowed his truck intentionally

to a crowd of revelers on busy Bourbon Street, more than two dozen other people were hurt. The Biden administration has transferred 11 detainees from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Oman. It's the most dramatic step in years to reduce the inmate population there. It cuts the number of men remaining to just 15, appears Sasha Pfeiffer reports. The 11 men, all from Yemen, were captured after the 9-11 terror attacks and held for more than two decades without charge or trial. They had all been approved for transfer years ago, but remained behind bars due to political and diplomatic factors. They are legally prohibited from returning to Yemen because that country is

unstable. So the Biden administration negotiated with Oman to take them. The Pentagon says all the men are former al-Qaeda. National security officials determined they're no longer enough of a threat to keep holding. However, several of the transfers are contingent upon quote, robust security assurances, including monitoring and travel restrictions. Sasha Pfeiffer, NPR News. A mixed close on Wall Street. Despite tech sector gains, the Dow fell 25 points.

The S&P was up 32 points. This is NPR. Health officials in Louisiana say a person there has died after catching bird flu. It marks the first death reported in the U.S. from the virus during the current outbreak, and appears Will Stone has more. This was the first severe case of bird flu in a human in the U.S. Last month, the Louisiana Department of Health reported the patient had been hospitalized after being exposed to backyard flock and wild birds.

Now the person has died. Health officials haven't shared many details, except that the patient was over 65 and had underlying medical conditions. Most cases in the US in the current outbreak have only led to mild illness. A teenager in Canada was hospitalized last year after catching the virus.

The overall risk to the general public is still considered low because it requires close contact with an infected animal to catch the virus, and there is no indication it's spreading between people. Will Stone, NPR News. Recent incidents in which individuals have sought to create chaos or claim innocent lives are placing some newer technologies in the spotlight. In New Orleans, where a man plowed into a crowd of New Year's revelers, police are now revealing the suspect used meta-glasses to scout the French Quarter. Special glasses include a built-in camera speakers and AI that can be controlled by your voice.

And in the case of a man who detonated a fireball in front of a Trump property in Las Vegas, the Tesla cyber truck he used was loaded with technology, including data on where the driver has been and other sensitive information. Law enforcement is increasingly using that data to help solve crimes. Crude oil futures prices eased a bit today, oiled down 40 cents a barrel to $73.56 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.