NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-07-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: January 7, 2025

NPR News: 01-07-2025 4AM 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, I'm Giles Snyder. President Biden says the nation is with New Orleans as the city mourns the 14 people killed in the New Year's truck attack. My wife, Jill, and I are here to stand with you, to grieve with you, to pray with you, to let you know you are not alone.

Biden spoke Monday evening during a prayer service at a cathedral in the city's French quarter. Afterwards, hundreds filled the streets for the annual Joan of Arc parade, the first parade of the carnival season. Organizers said they wanted the event to convey the spirit of New Orleans as the city struggles with the violence of the New Year's attack. The Pentagon has added some major names to a blacklist of what it calls Chinese military companies. Among them is Tencent Holdings, an online gaming titan and the owner of the hugely popular social media platform WeChat.

And here's Jon Ruich has more. The Defense Department is required by law to report annually on so-called Chinese military Companies operating in the United States in addition to ten cent it added Chinese battery maker C-8l to the list as well as a major overseas shipping company and the country's main commercial aircraft maker among others The Pentagon did not explain why any of the companies were specifically added to the list But it's wary of what officials call military-civil fusion or efforts to use civilian technologies and research to strengthen the Chinese military. Tencent's U.S. listed shares fell more than 7 percent after the announcement.

The company said in a statement it's not a military company or supplier and its inclusion on the list was, quote, clearly a mistake. John Ruch, NPR News. The death toll is rising from the earthquake that has struck Tibet. China's official Xinhua news agency now says 95 people were killed and 130 others were injured. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is calling for an all out rescue effort. The US Geological Survey says the initial quake had a magnitude of 7.1. There have been dozens of aftershocks. Health officials in Louisiana say an adult patient has died after catching

bird flu, the death the first reported in the U.S. from someone who had close contact with sick or dead birds. Here's MPUR's Will Stone reporting. 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 U.S. 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. And this is NPR News. And this is NPR News. The tributes to the late President Jimmy Carter are shifting to the nation's capital. Carter's casket is to be flown to Washington, D.C. today from Atlanta. He is to lie in state in the capital Rotunda. Carter's funeral service will be held Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral. The Justice Department has announced a plan to put the Minneapolis Police Department under federal court supervision. Matt Cepic of Minnesota Public Radio reports on the consent decree that stems from

the police murder of George Floyd nearly five years ago. The agreement mandates many changes that police have already put in place including a detailed use of force policy and a requirement that officers intervene whenever they see civil rights violations. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark notes that the police department is already operating under a similar state-level agreement and is on the path to reform. We have every confidence that the Minneapolis police department will emerge from this process a more trusted and an even more effective law enforcement agency.

President-elect Donald Trump opposed consent decrees during his first term, but Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says this agreement includes clear goals that won't change with political wins. For NPR News, I'm Matt Sepick in Minneapolis. The National Weather Service's warning of dangerous fire conditions beginning today in Southern California. The services and conditions could lead to downed trees and power lines from strong winds. And the south and east temperatures are expected to remain frigid following that winter storm that knocked out

power to customers from Missouri to Virginia. I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News. The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News.