NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-10-2025 8PM EST

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

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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 Jack Spear. President Biden got another update on the wildfires in California that have destroyed thousands of homes and now claimed at least 11 lives. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, he said he's concerned the death toll could go higher. Biden said the fires were unbelievably destructive.

It's almost like it's a battle scene. concerned the death toll could go higher. Biden said the fires were unbelievably destructive. It's almost like it's a battle scene. And he promised the federal government would be there to help California build back better, as he put it. But he acknowledged that he won't be president when that happens. President-elect Trump takes over shepherding the response and recovery from this disaster in just 10 days. They know every single thing we're doing about the response. My hope is that they'll have at least acknowledge we have some significant experience in this. We've done really well on it. I'm praying that they continue to focus.

Biden said Congress will need to approve additional disaster relief funding. Tamara Keith, NPR News, The White House. President-elect Donald Trump will begin office as a convicted and sentenced felon. More from NPR's Andrew Bernstein. Trump received no jail time, probation or fines at his sentencing hearing, just an unconditional discharge after being convicted by a jury of 34 felonies. Trump fought furiously to avoid even that outcome, not wanting the stain of a felony conviction hanging over his presidency.

The judge in the case, Juan Marchand, who had himself sentenced Trump's former chief financial officer to jail time, said the constitutional protections of the presidency bolstered by the Supreme Court's immunity decision last July meant that this was the only sentence that could be applied to an incoming president. Trump's lawyer, Todd Blanch, whom Trump has nominated for the number two position in the Justice Department, said he hoped, quote, this will never happen again in this country. Blanch says he'll appeal. Andrea Bernstein, NPR News, New York.

More than 200 passengers and crew members aboard a Delta Airlines flight on an Atlanta runway had to evacuate after the engine failed during takeoff. As Matt Sepick of Minnesota Public Radio reports, the FAA is investigating. Allison Wade of Atlanta was in a window seat on the right side of the Boeing 757-300 when it came to a sudden halt while speeding down the runway. Wade says she looked outside and saw black smoke coming from an engine. Then a flight attendant told everyone to crouch down before the pilot ordered passengers to evacuate

down the inflatable slides. Everybody kind of jumped up and was standing, but it took people a while to move. And then someone started screaming, get off the plane, get off the plane. Delta Airlines says three passengers were treated for minor injuries and a fourth was taken to a hospital. For NPR News, I'm Matt Sepick in Minneapolis. Better than expected

December jobs numbers apparently weighed on Wall Street. The markets worried the Fed may be less likely to cut rates later this month. The Dow fell 696 points today. You're listening to NPR. Entertainer turned anti-gay activist Anita Bryant has died. She was 84. She became an iconic promoter for Florida Orange Juice in the 1970s. She was later known for opposition to LGBTQ rights. And here's Walter Ray Watson as more. Anita Bryant's public career and national attention began when she was Miss Oklahoma in the 1959 Miss America pageant.

She then released this pop single. Paper Roses was a hit in 1960. By the early 1970s, she became the pitch woman for the Florida Citrus Commission. Come to the Florida sunshine tree. Bryant later gained national prominence, leading efforts to overturn a local ordinance in Florida, protecting some LGBTQ rights. But her activism mobilized the gay community around the country to boycott Florida orange juice. Bryant eventually lost sponsors and money, but she was unwavering in her position.

Walter Ray Watson, NPR News. Baltimore-based Constellation Energy has announced it is buying Calpine Energy, a nearly $16.5 billion deal. The merger joins two of the nation's biggest power companies and the nation's largest nuclear power plant operator. Combined the companies will have nearly 60 gigawatts of capacity from zero and low emission sources. Cash and stock deals shows the role electricity generation is expected to play, especially in terms of hungry data centers for AI. Crude old 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.