NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-07-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: January 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Korva Coleman. Vice President Harris is announcing a new rule today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It will remove medical debt from credit reports. NPR's Asma Khalid tells us it's estimated this move could affect millions of Americans. Tens of millions of people in the United States are saddled with medical bills they cannot pay, sometimes forcing them to drain their savings. Under this new rule, medical debt will no longer be listed on anyone's credit report. The White House says today's rule will remove $49 billion in unpaid medical bills from people's credit reports. This means some

people may see their credit scores improve and have an easier time receiving a mortgage. The CFPB has made going after medical debt a priority, but some congressional Republicans have long criticized the agency. And it's not clear what will happen in a new Trump administration. Asma Khalid, NPR News. The body of former President Jimmy Carter will be moved from Atlanta to Washington today. The state funeral for the nation's 39th president will take place Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral.

Ahead of the service, Carter will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. As Steve Futterman reports, Carter died late last month at the age of 100. The flag-draped casket here at the Carter Center since Saturday will be removed by military body bearers. The casket will be placed on board one of the presidential planes. For this trip though, it will not be called Air Force One, but rather Special Air Mission 39. All night long in temperatures near freezing, a steady flow of people continued to walk past the casket. It was truly a man who lived a good life and put people first and that's what matters. Rachel Gowan brought her two young children. It was great to be able to have them see

all of the things that he did. Once in Washington, the body will be placed on a horse-drawn caisson and taken to the Capitol where it will lie in state. The casket will lie on the same catafalque that held the casket of Abraham Lincoln. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Atlanta. The Biden administration has sent 11 detainees

held in the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Oman. Biden's been trying to close the facility before he leaves office. The Pentagon says all of them are former al-Qaeda members who've been detained for more than 20 years without being charged. NPR's Sasha Pfeiffer says reaction to the decision is coming along political lines. Republicans claim this is like releasing terrorists. Democrats say this should have happened a long time ago.

It's a moral stand on America, they say. This is complicated by the new fresh upheaval in the Middle East because there's some concern these men could end up back on a battlefield somewhere. But remember, national security officials has made the decision these men no longer pose a significant threat. NPR's Sasha Pfeiffer reporting. Chinese state media say a powerful

earthquake in Tibet not far from Mount Everest has killed at least 95 people. There have been dozens of aftershocks reported. This is NPR. A new study in My shows how luck can shape an individual's life trajectory. NPR's Jonathan Lambert explains how the research suggests competition raises the stakes of getting lucky. When scientists consider why some animals do better than others, they often point to genes or the environment. But sometimes critters just get lucky.

To study the role of luck, researchers raised groups of genetically identical mice in outdoor enclosures, allowing them to assess the impact of chance experiences, like happening to get to food first. When competition for resources was high, some individuals ended up doing significantly better than others over the course of their lives, the researchers report in the journal Science. That divergence largely didn't happen when competition was low, suggesting that competition can magnify the importance of luck. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.

The National Weather Service is warning the Los Angeles area of dangerously strong winds today. Forecasters say some winds could gust to hurricane strength. These could blow over tractor trailers and huge trees. A powerful winter storm is pulling away from the mid-Atlantic. The system dumped heavy snow and ice from the central plains and the east over the past few days. Tens of thousands of flights were canceled yesterday. Schools, government offices, and businesses were closed from Missouri to Delaware. Meanwhile, the two

newly arrived giant pandas at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., have been seen playing in the snow. The National Zoo has posted video of the pair, but they will not make their official public debut until Jan. 24. This is NPR News.