NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-06-2025 8AM EST

Episode Date: January 6, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Koriva Coleman. A major winter storm is careening across parts of the Central and Eastern U.S. Weather cautions are posted from Missouri to New Jersey. Forecasters say some areas will get more snow in this storm than they've seen in a decade. Washington, D.C. is expected to get up to a foot of snow. This comes as Congress meets to certify the 2024 presidential election results, and Washington will host the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter Thursday. Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith says

her force is ready. We've been preparing for preparations for the snow. We've been watching the news, the polar vortex as we know that it was coming in this direction. And so we've been planning appropriately. The tracking site PowerOutage.us says tens of thousands of customers have lost power. The greatest number of customers in the dark are in Kentucky. Other affected states include Indiana and Virginia. President Biden is going to New Orleans today.

He'll pay tribute to the 14 people killed and dozens of others injured in the New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street. And Piers Debbie Elliott reports the FBI says the man who rammed a truck into people who were celebrating had earlier visited New Orleans. The FBI is giving a more detailed timeline of Shamsuddin Jabbar's activities ahead of the deadly attack. New Orleans special agent in charge Lionel Myrthal says Jabbar made trips to the city in October and November, seemingly scouting his target. During that time, Jabbar, using meta

glasses, recorded a video as he rode through the French Quarter on a bicycle. Meta glasses appear to look like regular glasses, but they allow a user to record videos and photos hand-free. Agents say the evidence still indicates that Jabbar acted alone, but they're unsure why he targeted New Orleans. Debbie Elliott, NPR News. NPR has learned that Hamas has named a group of Israeli hostages in Gaza that it is willing to release as part of a ceasefire deal under negotiation.

As NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv, that group includes two U.S. citizens. The deal being negotiated in Qatar would have Hamas release 34 Israeli hostages, according to a Hamas official, and Israel would release some Palestinian prisoners and partially withdraw troops from Gaza. Israel wants to know which of the 34 hostages are still alive. A Hamas official tells NPR that the group will reveal that in exchange for unspecified concessions. The hostages under discussion include female soldiers, other women, and about two dozen

men, including two American hostages. Another official close to the talks, also speaking on condition of anonymity, says Hamas will not release all hostages in Gaza because Israel will only agree to a temporary ceasefire. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. And you're listening to NPR News. Two companies, Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, are filing suit against the Biden administration. They're challenging President Biden's decision last week to block Nippon Steel's purchase of U.S. Steel.

Biden said he stopped it because a domestically owned and operated steel industry is vital to national security interests. The steel companies reject that. They say it was a political choice. The Golden Globes have been presented and NPR's Madalit Delbarco reports two big winners were the films The Brutalist and Emilia Perez. The Brutalist stars Adrian Brody as a Jewish Hungarian architect who immigrates to America after World War II. Brody picked

up a best actor Golden Globe. Brady Corbett won the Best Director Prize and the film was crowned Best Drama Motion Picture. Emilia Perez stars Carla Sofía Gascon as a former Mexican drug cartel leader who transitions. When the film won as the Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture, Gascon honored the trans community. You never can take away our soul. I am who I am. Her co-star Zoe Saldana won a supporting actor award. Emilia Perez also won a Golden Globe for its original song El Mal and it was named the best non-english language film. Mandelita Barco, NPR News. Indonesia has launched its new program to fight

malnutrition. It's going to feed nearly 90 million children and pregnant women. Indonesia's president says the growth of many children is stunted because they cannot get enough to eat. The program will cost Indonesia $28 billion over four years. You're listening to NPR News.