NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-10-2025 9AM EST

Episode Date: January 10, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington on Korova-Coleman, powerful winds will return to the Los Angeles area today where a firestorm has damaged or destroyed about 10,000 buildings. Officials say at least 10 people have been killed by the wildfires. The Eaton Fire in Pasadena has scorched more than 20 square miles and remains fully uncontained. The Palisades Fire burning northwest of Los Angeles has charred more than 30 square miles. And bears Liz Baker reports a new blaze has broken out not far from the Palisades Fire. The Kenneth Fire spread rapidly right at the end of a day that saw a slight lull in the ferocious Santa Ana winds that have had Los Angeles on edge since Tuesday morning.

Contributing to the collective frayed nerves, an evacuation push notification erroneously sent to cell phones countywide. Still, reduced winds gave firefighters a small advantage Thursday, stopping the forward progress on the Kenneth and other fires and allowing some evacuation orders to lift, including in Sylmar and the Hollywood Hills. Cal Fire also reported some containment on the deadly Palisades fire, which has been raging for three days through communities on the coast. Liz Baker and Peer News, Los Angeles. President Biden says he's declared a major federal disaster for California. Today I'm announcing that the federal government will cover 100% of the cost for 180 days. This is going to pay for things like debris and hazard

material removal, temporary shelters, first responders' salaries, and all necessary measures to protect life and property. Biden also says people affected by the fires can apply for immediate cash assistance. He says that will allow them to pay for items like groceries and prescriptions. There's a massive winter storm pummeling parts of the south, central, and mid-Atlantic. Winter storm warnings are posted from the Texas Panhandle to the Atlantic coast of Virginia. Areas around Memphis, Tennessee could get eight inches of snow. The Labor Department says employers added 256,000 new jobs last month.

The December data is more robust than economic forecasters had predicted. The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected President-elect Trump's effort to block his criminal sentencing today in his New York hush money trial. In a vote of 5 to 4, the Supreme Court says Trump will still be able to appeal. And Piers Jimenez-Bustillo reports Trump was convicted in Manhattan last May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Trump will take a brief break from preparing to return to the White House to receive his criminal sentence just 10 days before he's sworn in for his second term. Trump has tried to stop it and warned any criminal sentence could interfere with his ability to govern. In the court order scheduling the hearing, New York Judge Juan Roshon said he was not

considering a prison sentence and instead believed the most viable option would be an unconditional discharge, which means Trump faces no fines or penalties. NPR's Jimena Bustillo reporting. You're listening to NPR. Lawyers for the video sharing app TikTok are taking their case to the U.S. Supreme Court today. TikTok wants the justices to block a federal law that bans the app. That ban takes effect this month unless TikTok is sold by its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance. The Justice Department says China can covertly manipulate TikTok users in the United States.

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions inched down last year. China can covertly manipulate TikTok users in the United States. U.S. greenhouse gas emissions inched down last year. A new study says they fell by less than 1 percent. And Bear's Michael Copley reports the pollution created from burning fossil fuels like coal and oil is raising global temperatures. The U.S. created about as much climate pollution last year as it did the year before, as emissions rose from buildings, transportation, and power plants. That's according to estimates by the Rhodium Group, a research firm. The U.S. will need to make much deeper cuts of more than 7%

annually in the coming years to meet a commitment it made under the Paris Agreement to slash heat trapping pollution. The Rhodium Group says emissions have only fallen that much during recession when the economy slows. Last year was the hottest on record after global emissions rose to a new high in 2023. Michael Copley, NPR News. Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was briefly arrested yesterday. That comes as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is to be sworn in for a third term in office today. He and his party claim they won disputed elections last July. Observers say that vote was neither fair nor was it free.

I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.