NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-07-2025 8PM EST

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

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What's in store for the music, TV, and film industries for 2025? We don't know, but we're making some fun, bold predictions for the new year. Listen now to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The body of former President Jimmy Carter arrived in the nation's capital today. NPR's Windsor Johnston reports the former president will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda, where members of the public will have the chance to pay their final respects. The sound of the U.S. military band playing as Carter's flag-draped casket was taken by horse-drawn carriage to the U.S. Capitol building. Inside, Senate Majority Leader John Thune spoke about Carter's lifelong mission of public service.

President Carter's term as president ended in 1981. And for the remainder of his life, the longest post-presidency of any American president ever, he focused on making the lives of his fellow men better. President Biden has declared Thursday a National Day of Mourning, the day that Carter's funeral will be held at Washington DC's National Cathedral. Windsor Johnston, NPR News, Washington. Authorities in Las Vegas say the man who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck and killed himself in front of the Trump Hotel used

the AI service chat GPT to plan it. NPR's Kirk Sigler has the latest on the investigation into the New Year's Day explosion. Las Vegas sheriff Kevin McMahill says the Cybertruck driver Matthew Livelsberger used artificial intelligence to learn how much explosives he'd need and where to buy them. McMahill says it's still unclear why he chose Las Vegas. Do we consider this a terrorist attack or an attempted terrorist attack? And I would just simply say that we

haven't closed any doors on where our investigation is going to lead us. Authorities also released surveillance footage showing Littlesberger pouring racing fuel on the truck, which they say contained 60 pounds of explosives that ignited after he shot himself. Police say the decorated 37-year-old

active duty green beret had no prior record and hadn't been considered a threat. Kirk Ziegler, NPR News. President Biden is in Los Angeles today. He traveled to Southern California to mark the creation of two new national monuments, but events had to be canceled due to extreme fire risk,

NPR's Deepa Sivaram explains. Los Angeles County is facing extremely dangerous winds and a fire that broke out in the Hollywood Hills area. The conditions led the White House to cancel President Biden's trip to the eastern Coachella Valley, where he was going to mark the creation of the Chuckwalla and Cetilla Highlands National Monuments. The two monuments will protect more than 800,000 acres of land. The event is being rescheduled to next week and will instead take place at the White House during President Biden's last week in office.

Deepa Sivaram, NPR News, Los Angeles. Thank you, Janet. JP Morgan is the latest big company to say it's considering acquiring all its roughly 300,000 employees to return to the office five days a week. Bloomberg News initially reporting senior execs at the company are discussing the idea,

which would most likely affect back office staff who are currently required to be in three days a week. You're listening to NPR News in Washington. President Biden's decision to block a nearly $15 billion deal by Japan's Nippon Steel to buy U.S. steel is not playing well in Tokyo. Japanese leaders seeing the rejection of the merger as a betrayal after decades of U.S. pressure to lift barriers on trade and investment. Japan is Washington's closest ally in Asia. Venezuelan opposition organizers are calling for mass protests ahead of President Nicolas Maduro being sworn in for a third term.

As Jorge Valencia reports, it's amid a climate of oppressionression over an election that according to many international observers, Boudoura lost. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is urging her supporters to go out on the streets this Thursday. That's the day before Maduro's next presidential term is set to begin. And she says she will also come out, even though she's in hiding at a concern for her safety. Because there is no way I'm going to miss that day, she tells reporters on a video call. This will be a day we'll talk about with our grandchildren and they will talk about with their grandchildren, she says. Maduro's government has arrested more than 2,000 protesters since the

election last July. For NPR News, I'm Jorge Valencia in Bogota. It comes at a tough time for the nation's biggest ski resort. More than 200 ski patrol employees at Utah's Park City Mountain Resort walked off the job December 27th seeking higher pay. Ski patrol members say they want base pay to go from $21 to $23 an hour. Meanwhile, resort owner Vale, for its part,

says it granted a 50% pay raise to ski patrol workers two years ago, ongoing strike forcing the resort to close many of its lifts and trails. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. Workers have been feeling the sting of inflation. So as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices,

the S&P 500 biggest post-election day spike ever, follow all the big changes and what they mean for you. Make America affordable again. Listen to The Indicator, the daily economics podcast from NPR.