NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-07-2025 9AM EST

Episode Date: January 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Korva Coleman. The body of former President Jimmy Carter will be moved to Washington D.C. today. Steve Futterman says Carter has been lying in repose at the Carter Center in Georgia. The body will be removed this morning from the Carter Center here in Atlanta and taken to Dobbins Air Reserve Base. The flag-draped casket will be placed on one of the presidential jets. For this flight, the plane will be referred to as Special Air Mission 39. Once in Washington, the body will be placed on a horse-drawn caisson and travel along Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Avenue to the Capitol.

Military body bearers will take the casket up the Capitol steps to the rotunda, where Jimmy Carter's body will lie in state. Steve Futterman reporting. Carter's state funeral is set for Thursday at Washington National Cathedral. President Biden visited New Orleans yesterday to grieve with families of the victims from last week's attack on Bourbon Street. Biden lit a candle at a prayer service.

It was just blocks away from where a driver had plowed into a crowd of people celebrating New Year's Day. 14 people were killed and dozens of others were hurt. The Biden administration is now granting a higher security threat rating for Mardi Gras in New Orleans. And Piers Debbie Elliott reports the city requested the security upgrade. New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell sought the highest potential threat designation. It's used for events with national or international importance that require extensive federal

interagency support. She's also asking the White House to provide a tactical expert to review the city's security plans. Mardi Gras season is underway and the Super Bowl comes to New Orleans next month. City leaders are facing scrutiny for not completing repairs to safety barriers in the French Quarter before New Year's. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrell is ordering a state investigation into security plans to determine what was done and not done and what needs to change. Debbie Elliott, NPR News. Chinese media say at least 95 people have been killed

by a powerful earthquake today in Tibet. The US Geological Survey says the quake's magnitude was 7.1. NPR's John Rewich reports rescuers are trying to pull out people trapped in the rubble. The quake struck a little after 9 a.m. local time and USGS registered several substantial aftershocks. The epicenter was high in the Himble. The quake struck a little after 9 a.m. local time and USGS registered several substantial aftershocks. The epicenter was high in the Himalayas, some 50 miles north of Mount

Everest. The earthquake rattled Tibet's second biggest city, Shigatse, the center of which is over 100 miles to the northeast. Photos and videos online showed collapsed walls, rubble in streets, and overturned vehicles. Shigatse is the site of a major Buddhist monastery that's the traditional home of the Panchen Lama, the second most important spiritual figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama. John Rewich, NPR News. The quake was also felt in northern India. You're listening to NPR.

It's been ten years since armed men attacked the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charleribdo in Paris. Twelve people were killed, including some of France's most popular cartoonists. The attackers who were killed said they supported Al-Qaeda. French President Emmanuel Macron helped lead a memorial service today. Pope Francis has selected a vocal critic of President-elect Trump as the new Archbishop of Washington, D.C. NPR's 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. Parts of the Central and East Coasts are recovering after a huge winter storm piled snow and ice on the region. Hundreds of thousands of customers from Missouri to New Jersey lost power. Meanwhile the National Weather Service is warning people in the Los Angeles area of powerful winds today. Forecasters say these could reach hurricane strength and be life-threatening. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.