NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-08-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

NPR News: 01-08-2025 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 in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. Power outages are mounting in Southern California because of raging wildfires. NPR's Giles Snyder reports that the number of customers without electricity now tops more than a quarter of a million.

The bulk of the power outages were in Los Angeles County overnight, where powerful Santa Ana winds have been whipping up the flames. Many customers have been preemptively cut off due to the risk of equipment sparking a blaze. The National Weather Service warns that critical fire weather will remain likely today for parts of Southern California. There are now three major wildfires raging out of control in Southern California, and hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes. One blaze is burning in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles. Another is raging in the Altadena and Pasadena areas, while the third fire is located north

of Los Angeles. All three blazes are being fueled by a windstorm, and authorities say they expect conditions to get worse. The number of properties damaged and destroyed by the flames is unclear. There's been no immediate word on fire fatalities in the region. A final funeral for Jimmy Carter will be held Thursday at the Washington National Cathedral. After arriving at the U.S. Navy Memorial Tuesday, a horse-drawn caisson carried the former president's flag-draped coffin to the U.S. Capitol where he lies in state.

Vice President Kamala Harris was among those gathered in the Capitol rotunda to honor Carter. James Earl Carter Jr. loved our country. He lived his faith. He served the people. And he left the world better than he found it. Harris said that Carter's work in office and decades later spoke louder than any tribute. Undocumented immigrants accused of nonviolent crimes could be targeted for deportation under legislation passed by the U.S. House. The measure is named for Laken Reilly, the nursing student who was killed by a migrant

in Georgia last year. It goes before the Senate as early as this week. A New York appeals court has denied President-elect Donald Trump's attempt to delay his criminal sentencing. NPR's Ximena Bustillo has more. Trump is set to be sentenced for his hush money conviction in Manhattan on Friday, just 10 days before he's sworn in as president. The appeals court denied a request from Trump's lawyers to delay the date.

A jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump is expected to attend the sentencing virtually, and the judge has already signaled that he is prepared to offer a rare, quote, unconditional discharge, meaning Trump will not face any prison time or any lesser fine or penalty. Jimena Bustillo, NPR News, New York. U.S. futures are slightly higher in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR. In Las Vegas, authorities say the man who exploded a Tesla cyber truck outside of the

Trump Hotel on New Year's Day had used generative A.I. to help plan the attack. Thirty-seven-year-old Army Green Beret Matthew Liffelsberger apparently left behind some notes about the attack. Liffelsberger apparently died of a gunshot wound before the truck was blown up. A developing winter storm could produce snow, rain, and ice over parts of Texas this week. From member station KERA, Megan Cardona reports on what's in store for parts of the state. Temperatures across much of Texas dropped this week as an Arctic air mass pushes through the state.

The state's electrical grid operator, the electric reliability council of Texas has issued a weather watch until Friday. Officials say grid conditions are expected to be normal during the watch. In Dallas interim assistant police chief Jesse Reyes says people should stay off the roads. Less cars on the road mean less accidents. And obviously for the police department, if we're stuck on accidents, it's going to make

it very difficult to be responding to other calls for service. Parts of North Texas could see three to six inches of snow starting Wednesday night. I'm Megan Cardona in Fort Worth. Facebook and Instagram will no longer use a third-party fact-checking program. Meta, the parent of the platforms, is switching to a system called Community Notes, allowing users to weigh in on content. Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg says the company tried to address concerns about misinformation, but he says third-party fact-checking became too politically biased, resulting in a loss

of trust, as announcement came four years after Facebook banned Donald Trump. This is NPR.