NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-10-2025 2PM EST

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

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Matt Wilson spent years doing rounds at children's hospitals in New York City. I had a clip-on tie. I wore Heelys, size 11. Matt was a medical clown. The whole of a medical clown is to reintroduce the sense of play and joy and hope and light into a space that doesn't normally inhabit. Ideas about navigating uncertainty. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Lakshmi Singh. At least 10 deaths are now linked to the destructive fires burning across the Los Angeles area this hour. The flames in Southern California have engulfed thousands more structures, including people's homes. Tens of thousands

of people have evacuated, some from neighborhoods with narrow winding roads. As NPR's Lauren Sommer finds, many communities across the United States also don't have adequate evacuation routes. The Palisades fire grew explosively, driven by powerful winds. As residents in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood fled, they found roads that were jammed with cars. Some had to flee on foot. It's a situation that happened in other fires with more deadly consequences, like in Lahaina, Maui and in Paradise, California. Many communities around the country are in the same situation with few roads in and out. Studies show that many are also behind on

evacuation planning, lacking the resources. New technology is helping. Some communities are using computer simulations to plan better evacuations and analyze where the bottlenecks are. Lauren Sommer, NPR News. The U.S. Supreme Court's weighing arguments around a federal law that would ban TikTok if it fails to divest from Chinese ownership. Oral arguments were held today. NPR's Bobbi Allen reports on what's next if the Supreme Court upholds a law due to take effect January 19th, the day before President-elect Trump's inauguration. The Supreme Court upholds the law. It could start very soon. Apple and Google will then be legally required

to remove TikTok from app stores. Web hosting firms like Oracle that support TikTok have to cut ties. It could be the beginning of the end for TikTok. Now if Now, if the Supreme Court strikes down the law, well, then it's just business as usual for the app. NPR's Bobbi Allen reporting. President-elect Trump's expected to huddle with a host of congressional Republicans in the coming days, but as NPR's Deirdre Walsh tells us, one lawmaker from Pennsylvania is the first Democrat to accept Trump's invitation to meet at Mar-a-Lago. John Fetterman says he's excited to see the president of the United States of America But as NPR's Deidre Walsh tells us, one lawmaker from Pennsylvania is the first Democrat to accept Trump's invitation to meet at Mar-a-Lago.

John Fetterman says he's the senator for all Pennsylvanians, not just Democrats, and will meet with and have a conversation with anyone, quote, if it helps me deliver for Pennsylvania and the nation. He's met with some of Trump's cabinet nominees and expressed support for some already. House Budget Chairman Jody Errington is also heading down, along with groups of House GOP lawmakers, to chart out how to move Trump's big list of agenda items through Congress. I think he's said already he's open to whatever process we end up with and wherever we land one or two bills.

What he cares about is the outcomes. Congressional Republicans are crafting legislation addressing border security, tax cuts, and energy, using a process to get around a Democratic filibuster. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News, the Capitol. The Dow is down more than 500 points at 42,123. It's NPR News. A stampede at the entrance of a historic mosque in the Syrian capital killed three people and injured many others, according to the Syrian state news agency. NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi reports from Damascus.

The panic was caused at the Umayyad Mosque during a food distribution event after Friday prayers were over and shots were fired in the air to disperse the crowd, according to local reports. Syrian first responders said that women and children were among the dead and injured. In a statement, Damascus Governor Mahmoud Marwan said he would take all necessary measures to hold those responsible accountable. The Umayyad Mosque is one of the oldest in the Muslim world. Earlier on Friday, the Italian Foreign Minister toured the mosque during a diplomatic visit to Syria.

The trip comes a month after Islamist rebels overthrew Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Damascus. The Biden administration has announced an 18-month extension of temporary protected status for migrants from several countries. They include El Salvador, Venezuela, and Ukraine. This will offer protection against deportation for more than 900,000 immigrants.

The final big monthly jobs report of the Biden administration shows a higher than expected gain of 256,000 jobs in December. That's about 100,000 more than what many economists had projected for the month. It also beat November's performance. The unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.1 percent. U.S. stocks are trading lower with all major market indices down more than 1 percent. The Dow has fallen 553 points. You're listening to NPR News.