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

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

NPR News: 01-10-2025 9PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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. As fires continue to burn in Los Angeles tonight, questions are mounting about whether more resources might have made a difference. It's prompted some finger pointing and investigations, but it doesn't change the reality for thousands who've lost everything in the fast moving fires.

McKenna Sieverson is a reporter for the LAist and says it hit close to home. Communities are really rallying around each other and that's kind of been a bright spot, at least for me personally. For example, in Pasadena, where our newsroom is based, a shelter is just overwhelmed with donations. The Humane Society parking lot is overflowing with supplies after taking in animals and people across the area are just offering up whatever space they have. So the support is there right now when it is so desperately needed. Reporter McKenna Sievertson, the wildfires, many of which are still mostly uncontained,

have damaged or destroyed more than 10,000 structures, claimed at least 11 lives, and likely caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. Smoke from the deadly fires in Los Angeles is forcing a lot of unhealthy air on people in interest of spiking in air purifiers. MPR's Bill Traplo has that story. With much of the LA area covered by a red zone of unhealthy air quality, people are looking for ways to avoid breathing smoke. A big concern is the fine, inhalable particulate matter that can

lodge deep in our lungs. To clean indoor air, experts say you should use filters rated at Merv 13 or higher if your home's HVAC system can handle it. Portable HEPA air purifiers are also good. And online, people are sharing ways to improvise, like using air filters to make a cube around a box fan. If you go outside in smoky conditions, you should wear an N95 mask and drink plenty of water to help your body deal with irritating pollution. Bill Chappell, NPR News. Publication by the Islamic State does not claim responsibility for the New Year's Eve attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people. It does, however, affirm the man behind the

operation was inspired by ISIS materials." More from MPR's Odette Youssef. An editorial in the Islamic State's weekly newsletter praises the attack, but it indicates that the organization had no knowledge that it was coming. Colin Clark, a counterterrorism expert with the Sufan Group, says this is highly concerning because it means online ISIS materials were sufficient to inspire the attacker to think of the operation on his own. This is set it and forget it like this is the realization of exactly what

they're hoping to achieve. Clark says this model is really difficult if not impossible to stop especially if a would-be terrorist has good operational security as he says the New Orleans attacker did. Odette Youssef, NPR News. Better than expected December jobs numbers. The Labor Department reporting employers added 256,000 jobs last month, well above the 150,000 that were forecast. Wall Street, however, was unimpressed. The Dow fell 696 points today. You're listening to NPR. Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles in China increased by more than 40 percent last year. NPR's Owen Xiao reports demand for the new energy cars is

booming even as companies are locked in a tough price war. China's electric vehicle market has grown rapidly in recent years driven in part by general's government subsidies. In, nearly 11 million new energy vehicles were sold in China, making up almost half of all retail car sales, according to the China Passenger Car Association. By comparison, such vehicles accounted for just 8% of sales in the U.S. market last year, says market researcher Cox Automotive. As the world's largest EV market and producer, China's EV companies face fierce competition at home and pressure on exports.

The European Union has raised concerns, claiming that extensive state support for Chinese carmakers has led to unfair competition undercutting local competitors. Al Wenzel, NPR News, Beijing. Some better than expected quarterly earnings numbers from drugstore chain Walgreens today. The company's shares soared after leaders told an analyst they've made progress toward improving the company, but comes to a major concern, shrinking prescription reimbursements.

The company also said it plans to close some of its stores to better align with anticipated goals going forward. Walgreens has about 8,500 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico as well as several thousand in Europe and Asia. Company plans to shutter 500 stores this year. Crude Oil futures prices moved higher, oil up 65 cents a barrel. To end the session at $76.57 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. What's in store for the music, TV, and film industries for 2025? We don't know. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.