NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-10-2025 10PM EST

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

NPR News: 01-10-2025 10PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear.

As some Los Angeles residents are returning to their smoldering neighborhoods to salvage what they can, questions are being raised about whether all of the resources needed were in place to fight the devastating wildfires there. The fires have claimed at least 11 lives, burned an area the size of San Francisco, and destroyed more than 10,000 homes and structures. LA Fire Chief Kristen Crowley says she repeatedly warned city officials cuts to the department's budgets were a problem.

Right now, we need to be fully, fully funded and supported so that our firefighters can do their jobs. Additional resources coming in will help us with this current disaster, but moving forward, that potential can happen anywhere in the entire city of Los Angeles, and we need to be fully funded and supported. Crowley pointed to a memo she wrote last month

pleading for more resources. Even as fire crews have made some progress, the two largest wildfires there continue to grow. TikTok asked the Supreme Court today to hold a law that could ban the video app in nine days. As NPR's Bobby Allen explains, lawyers for TikTok are calling the ban an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment. TikTok's lawyers pleaded with the court to step in and block the law banning the app. The company's legal team argued TikTok is cordoned off from China, and therefore they say, suppressing the speech of 170 million American users is not justified.

But Chief Justice John Roberts said as long as bite dance is TikTok's corporate overlord, Americans are vulnerable to Chinese propaganda and spying. It seems to me that you're ignoring the major concern here of Congress, which was Chinese manipulation of the content and was Chinese manipulation of the content and acquisition and harvesting of the content. The court is expected to rule soon on whether the start date will be delayed and whether the ban is constitutional. Bobby Allen, NPR News. The White House says President Biden underscored the importance of continued support for Ukraine during a call with the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, today. NPR's Tamara Keith

reports Biden's been rushing aid to Ukraine's war effort before President-elect Trump takes office. The Biden administration announced a new sanctions package targeted at Russia's energy sector, including oil tankers, another effort to weaken Russia's economy. But Biden admitted it could also affect American drivers. It is probable that gas prices could increase as much as three, four cents a gallon, but it's going to have a more profound impact on Russia's ability to continue to act in the way it's acting in the conduct of war.

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, is in tough shape right now, Biden said, and he doesn't want him to have any breathing room. Based on recent statements, it is unlikely President-elect Donald Trump will take a similarly hard line on Russia. Tamara Keith, NPR News. Strong jobs numbers worried Wall Street today. Mid concerns about possible Fed rate cuts going forward, the Dow fell 696 points, the Nasdaq dropped 317 points. This is NPR. In a new report, the U.S. intelligence community says it has not found evidence that a foreign country is behind the so-called Havana Syndrome that's caused health problems among U.S. officials

abroad. But as NPR's Greg Meyre explains, two agencies now say an adversary may have developed a weapon that could cause such injuries. The new assessment is the work of seven intelligence agencies that have been seeking the cause of ailments that first afflicted U.S. officials in Cuba's capital in 2016. Once again, they say it's unlikely or highly unlikely a foreign government is responsible for problems that include chronic migraines, balance issues, and memory loss.

However, two of the agencies, which are not named, have shifted their position. They now say it's possible a foreign power has developed a weapon that could inflict such harm. One agency estimates a 50-50 likelihood that such a weapon has been used. The other agency says it's unlikely it's been used. Greg Myre, NPR News, Washington.

It's New Zealand's version of a reality show, albeit featuring birds instead of people. It tracks a pair of Northern Royal albatrosses as they breed and raise a chick each year. Millions have tuned in to watch the 24-hour live stream of the birds breeding season or Rugged Headland on New Zealand's South Island since the show began in 2016. Shows also draw attention

to New Zealand's conservation program aimed at protecting the birds, which are under threat from plastic pollution and warming seas. Critical futures prices moved higher, oil up $2.65 a barrel to $76.57 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.