NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-07-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: January 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Vice President Kamala Harris says Monday was a good day for democracy. She spoke after overseeing Congress' peaceful certification of President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the November election. I do believe very strongly that America's democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. The formal process went off without a hitch. It was conducted under tight security because of what happened four years ago when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. More than 200,000 customers remain without power tonight thanks to that winter storm

that's been dumping snow and icy outages stretched from Missouri to North Carolina and Virginia, and that storm led to several fatal traffic accidents. In St. Louis, the storm also broke a weather record, but not the one you'd expect from St. Louis Public Radio Kate Grumke reports. St. Louisans are digging out from under 8.5 inches of snow, but this didn't break the record for snowfall. Instead, the mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain broke Sunday's record for overall precipitation.

Marshall Fahler is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in St. Louis. There's a greater amount of sleet that fell, and so that really lowers your snowfall totals. This icy snow won't melt anytime soon. Phaler says cold air is moving in and will stay through Friday. For NPR News, I'm Kate Grumke in St. Louis. President Biden has told New Orleans that it is not alone.

Biden spoke Monday evening at a cathedral in the city's historic French Quarter, paying tribute to the victims of the New Year's truck attack that killed 14 people. Biden spoke at the prayer service after meeting with victims' family members and after he and First Lady Jill Biden laid a bouquet of flowers in front of a makeshift memorial on Bourbon Street. The Biden administration calling on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a stalwart friend of the United States. White House praise for Trudeau came after he announced his resignation on Monday.

Dan Karpanchuk reports that Trudeau has faced a tide of unpopularity over the last year, even within his own Liberal Party. Trudeau says he will stay on as Prime Minister until a new leader is chosen. He says early this morning he told the Governor General that a new session of parliament is needed, which he has granted. And the House will now be prorogued until March 24th. That will give the party time to hold a leadership convention to choose someone to lead the fight in the next election. Trudeau said in mid-December that he would take the Christmas break to consider his future as prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party. He said he talked with his family before coming to his decision, adding that he's always been a fighter but

can't continue with internal party battles as well. His decision sets up the country for an election as early as this spring. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpinchuk in Toronto. This is NPR. A federal judge in New York City has found Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court in a case brought by two Georgia election workers. The judge in Manhattan said Monday that Giuliani had failed to comply with information requests in a $148 million defamation judgment against him. Giuliani had repeatedly accused the two election workers of trying to help steal the 2020 presidential election for Democrat Joe Biden. Pope Francis has selected a vocal critic of

President-elect Donald Trump as the new Archbishop of Washington, D.C. MPR Jason DeRose reports on the Pope's choice of San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy to the post. Cardinal Robert McElroy has led the archdiocese of San Diego for nearly a decade. During that time, he became known as a critic of the first Trump administration's immigration policies and has continued to speak out against Trump's intentions during his upcoming term. Specifically, McElroy called the Muslim ban religious prejudice and mass deportations gravely evil. He says Catholics should oppose such deportations with the same energy they give to abortion.

Shortly after Trump's first inauguration, he called on Catholics to become disruptors. In San Diego, Robert McElroy is also known for his work toward inclusion of the LGBTQ community. Jason DeRose, NPR News. Quick check of the LGBTQ community. Jason DeRose, NPR News. Quick check of the financial market, stocks in Asia rising in Tuesday trading following Wall Street's rally on Monday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei jumped more than 2% in morning trading. I'm Jaiil Snyder. This is NPR News.