NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-10-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

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Elan Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have outlined their plans to slash the federal workforce with the help of a team of quote small government crusaders. What's in store for federal workers and how are they planning for change? This January 1A's.gov series guides you through various government agencies and the people working for you. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. The Lydia Fire in Angeles National Forest is now 60 percent contained.

It is one of several blazes burning in the Los Angeles area that officials say destroyed more than 9,000 homes and other structures in the region. Some of the evacuees in Southern California have returned to their neighborhoods to see what's left of their homes and to comfort one another following massive destruction from the so-called Eaton Fire. For Member Station KQED, Rachel Miro has more from Altadena. Flaring gas lines, downed power lines and huge tree branches littering the roads aren't enough to keep locals away from checking on their homes. But in many cases, those homes are no longer standing. That was the case for Herb Wilson, who was on vacation with his wife in Hawaii when his

daughter called him Monday to tell him what was going on. And we're just looking down the block at all the devastation and all the houses on the block are gone, with the exception of one. Wilson says he's made friends with many neighbors over 20 years. He says it's too soon to say whether he'll rebuild, but right now, despite the devastation, he wants to. For NPR News, I'm Rachel Miro in Altadena, California. The nation of Canada is offering to aid firefighting efforts in Southern California.

As Dan Carpinchuk reports, officials in Ottawa say the resources are available and that they're standing by to deploy them. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa is offering firefighters, planes and equipment as well as the military personnel to get them to California. And Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he has two water bombers and 165 firefighters on standby. Quebec and British Columbia have already sent planes and helicopters to the front lines in California. Danielle Pletka Dan Charpe and Chuck reporting. World Health Organization director Tedros

Adhanom Ghebreyesus was among those honoring former President Jimmy Carter at a funeral in Washington on Thursday. And Pierre's Gabriella Emanuelle reports that Dr. Tedros and Carter had been close friends for two decades. On a trip to Ethiopia in 2005, Carter and Tedros met for the first time. Carter went to talk about neglected tropical diseases. But Tedros, who was then Ethiopia's Minister of Health, says he wanted to discuss malaria instead. And then the response was, you know the problem, you know the solution, and we don't want

to prescribe something because we are here to support you. It was just amazing. In the end, Tedros says Carter sent millions of bed nets to help combat malaria and then visited to help distribute the nets. Gabriella Emanuel, NPR News. Last year the Biden administration finalized new rules expanding Title IX protections for LGBTQ plus students. On Thursday, a federal judge threw out the additional rules, saying they overstepped

the president's authority. Judge Danny Reeves also cited what he called some legal shortcomings. This is NPR News. In a five-to-four ruling Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request to delay the sentencing of Donald Trump. The president-elect was convicted of falsifying business records during the 2016 campaign, allegedly to hide a nearly decade-old extramarital affair. Judge Juan Machon is to sentence Trump on Friday and has already indicated he will not

issue any jail time. Trump maintains that he did nothing wrong. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Carina Machado was briefly arrested on Thursday, according to members of her political party. The news comes as President Nicolas Maduro faces a new wave of protests over his re-election. Manuel Rueda has more from Bogotá. Machado had been in Hayden for four months, but today she resurfaced to lead protests against the Venezuelan government. After delivering a speech on the back of a truck, Machado disappeared

into a large crowd surrounded by her security team. Her political party, Vente Venezuela, said that minutes later armed men shot at a group of motorcycles transported in Machado and briefly detained her. Venezuela's government has arrested at least 16 activists this week, as Maduro prepares to be sworn in for a third term on Friday. The Venezuelan president is widely believed to have stolen last year's election. For NPR News, I'm Manuel Rueda in Bogota. NPR News. US futures are lower in after hours trading on Wall Street. Following Thursday's

mixed close, the Dow Jones industrials rose 106 points, the Nasdaq Composite Index and the S&P 500 lost 10 points. This is NPR. After the election, the economy feels like one big, huh? Good thing there's the Indicator from Planet Money podcast. We take a different economic topic from the news every day and break it down in under 10 minutes. Topics like the home building shortage or the post-election crypto rally. Listen to the Indicator from Planet Money podcast from NPR and turn that, huh, into

an ah.