NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-10-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. As the death toll continues to rise from fires in and around Los Angeles, at least 10 people have now died there. California Governor Gavin Newsom is ordering an independent investigation into why firefighters battling the blazes face challenges getting water to fight the flames. More from Em Investigation KQED's Marisa Lagos. Crews in the Pacific Palisades and near Pasadena have repeatedly been stymied by low water pressure and fire hydrants running dry.

In a letter to local officials, Newsom wrote that, while water supplies from hydrants are not designed for widespread blazes, losing supplies likely impaired firefighting and evacuation efforts. He directed state water and fire officials to investigate. State Attorney General Rob Bonta says it's the right move. You always want to do better, get to the root cause of any challenges that you have so that they don't happen again and that you're better the next time.

Newsom asked LA officials to conduct their own review and share information with the state. For NPR News, I'm Marisa Lagos in San Francisco. The Biden administration is imposing sweeping sanctions on Russia's energy sector, the move targeting what administration officials say is the largest source of revenue for Russia's war against Ukraine. Here's NPR's Jackie Northam.

Administration officials say this latest round of sanctions targets some of Russia's largest oil companies, as well as traders, oil field service providers, and liquefied natural gas projects. Administration officials say this new round of sanctions will cost Russia billions of dollars in energy reserves. The move by the Biden administration comes just days before President-elect Donald Trump

takes office. He's been skeptical of imposing new sanctions on Russia. The U.S. has slapped more than 5,000 sanctions and export controls on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago. Jackie Northam, NPR News. Supreme Court appears likely to uphold a law that would ban the popular video sharing app TikTok in the U.S., effective later this month. Justices were hearing arguments today in a clash between free speech advocates. Those who worry the company's Chinese parent could use the app to spy on U.S. users. Chief

Justice John Roberts among those expressing concerns about TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance. Parts of the South have been gripped by a massive winter storm, closing schools and businesses and knocking out powered Little Rock Public Radio's Josie Lenora reports tens of thousands of residents have no power amid freezing temperatures. The majority of outages are in the southwestern corner of the state. The National Weather Service says parts of the state have seen nearly a foot of snow since Thursday afternoon. A winter storm warning will be in effect for much of the state until midday Saturday, while

temperatures hover around 30 degrees. Energy Arkansas, which has over one and a half million customers in the state, says the power issue should be resolved by Saturday afternoon. From NPR News, I'm Josie Lenora in Little Rock, Arkansas. Stocks close sharply lower to end the week on Wall Street. The Dow was down 696 points. This is NPR. Atlanta Bay's Delta is reporting stronger than expected. Fourth quarter earnings amid strong demand during the crucial holiday season. The airline also says it benefited from a decline in fuel costs. For the three months ending in December, Delta says it earned $843 million.

The airline also forecasts full-year earnings exceeding Wall Street estimates. Israel says it has carried out new airstrikes in Yemen against what it said were Houthi rebel military targets. It comes a day after the Houthis launch multiple drones at Israel, MPR's Kat Lounsdorf has more. The strikes were on the western coast of Yemen and inland, according to the Israeli military. It said it struck civilian infrastructure that had been, quote, exploited by the Iranian-backed Houthis, like a major power station and several ports. It was not immediately clear the extent of the damage, but pro-Houthi media reported at least one person had been

killed and nine others wounded. Houthi leadership called the strikes a, quote, crime and a dangerous escalation. The Houthis have fired several drones and missiles toward Israel in recent weeks, including three at once the day before. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Houthis will, quote, continue to pay a heavy price for their aggression against Israel.

Kat Lansdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Anita Bryant, a former Miss Oklahoma who became famous as a singer and as an outspoken opponent of gay rights has died. In the 70s, Bryant led a successful campaign to repeal an ordinance in Florida's Miami-Dade County that would have prohibited discrimination against gay people. Supported by the Reverend Jerry Falwell, Bryant continued to oppose what today is known as LGBTQ rights. The year Bryant was 84 years old. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.