NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-11-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

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This is Eric Glass. In this American life, sometimes we just show up somewhere, turn on our tape recorders, and see what happens. If you can't get seven cars in 12 days, you gotta look yourself in the mirror and say, holy, what are you kidding me? Like this car dealership, trying to sell its monthly quota of cars, and it is not going well. I just don't want one balloon to a car. Balloon the whole freaking place so it looks like I'm circus. Real life stories every week. Live from NPR

News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. At least 11 people have died as several major wildfires continue to burn in Southern California. Officials say some 153,000 residents of Los Angeles County are under evacuation orders. LA County Fire Chief Anthony Monrone says that the strong Santa Ana winds that have helped spread the fires are returning. Monrone- Moderate to locally strong Santa Ana winds will affect Los Angeles County and today, tomorrow, and then again on Monday through Wednesday. LA County fire will be prepared. Firefighters have made some progress. The Palisades fire is now about 11% contained,

while the Eaton fire is now about 15% contained. They've burned tens of thousands of acres since they began Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Fire Department says budget cuts are affecting efforts to contain the flames. NPR's Windsor Johnston reports. Los Angeles Fire Chief Christine Crowley says she warned last month that budget cuts would affect the response to large-scale emergencies, adding that the department needs to be properly funded. I was directed to develop a plan as part of a budget reduction exercise and that could equate to 48.8 million dollars and I

warned, I rang the bell that these additional cuts could be very, very devastating. This week Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bess said there were no reductions that were made that would have impacted the situation that the city is now dealing with. Much of the devastation is occurring outside L.A. city limits. Windsor-Johnston, NPR News. In the southern U.S., tens of thousands of homes and businesses are still without power after a snowstorm yesterday.

Icy hazardous conditions continue. The NBA has postponed its game in Atlanta today. A new study is raising concerns about the hundreds of U.S. hospitals controlled by private equity firms. From member station WBUR, Priyanka Thayal-McCluskey has more in the story. Many patients said their experience at hospitals worsened after private equity takeovers, and they reported staff were less responsive. Dr. Rishi Wadhera co-authored the study and says it adds to a growing body of evidence

pointing in the same direction. Rishi Wadhera, Dr. of Health and Human Services, When private equity takes over a hospital, things generally get worse for patients. He says as private equity grows, there really is an urgent need for greater transparency, monitoring and regulatory oversight. Lawmakers are paying attention. urgent need for greater transparency, monitoring, and regulatory oversight. Pryanka Thial-McCluskey, Boston News Agency For NPR News, I'm Pryanka Thial-McCluskey in Boston. This is NPR News in Washington. The state news agency in Syria is reporting today that Syrian intelligence has thwarted

a plan by the Islamic State Group to bomb a Shiite shrine near Damascus. The new leaders have been calling for religious coexistence in Syria. For the first time in more than 100 years, the Department of Justice has published a report on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Max Bryan with Member Station KWGS reports. In the massacre, a white mob killed as many as 300 people, leveled more than 1,000 homes, and destroyed prominent businesses in the area known as Black Wall Street following an unsubstantiated report that a black teenager assaulted a white woman.

Now the DOJ says there are credible reports that some members of law enforcement murdered black residents in the massacre. And unlike the first report produced in the weeks after the massacre, the document issued Friday asserts that the white mob's quote opportunistic violence became systematic and stemmed from racial bias. Federal authorities say prosecution opportunities are prohibited by expired statutes of limitations and the fact that perpetrators are dead. However DOJ officials say the report is still important for history. For NPR News, I'm Max Bryan in Tulsa.

President-elect Trump is welcoming House Republicans to his Florida resort this weekend. The lawmakers say they want to discuss his priorities before he takes office, including immigration, border security and tax and spending cuts. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.