NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-11-2025 2PM 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 like I'm circus. Real life stories every week.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. In Southern California, officials say at least 11 people have died since devastating wildfires began Tuesday and continue to burn. They warn that figure could rise as firefighters are able to conduct house-to-house searches. The National Weather Service warns the strong Santa Ana winds that have been spreading the fires are likely to conduct house-to-house searches. The National Weather Service warns the strong Santa Ana winds that have been spreading the fires are likely to return. Authorities are urging frustrated residents to remain vigilant. NPR's Kirk Ziegler reports.

This last day has been a chaotic whiplash of stress for scores of Angelenos, most recently when evacuation alerts went out to an estimated 10 million people by mistake, instead of just those needing to flee a small brush fire northwest of the city. A retraction text came out moments later, and emergency officials are now pleading with the frustrated public to not disable their alerts. On the firefighting side, water shortages continue to be a concern in hydrants on the Eaton Fire by Pasadena, a key reservoir that typically supplies water to hydrants in Pacific Palisades, is believed to have been offline for repairs when that fire ignited.

Kirk Sigler, NPR News, Los Angeles. Groups of House Republicans are visiting Mar-a-Lago this weekend to meet with President-elect Trump just over a week before he takes office. NPR's Amy Held reports. As they prepare to take the trifecta of power in Washington, the GOP has a lot of issues they want to address, like immigration and border security, tax and spending cuts. And they want Trump to weigh in on how to prioritize

and structure them. He met with Republican senators on Capitol Hill earlier this week and said he cares less about process, more about results. We're looking at the one bill versus two bills and whatever it is, it doesn't matter, we're going to get the result. Not if Democrats have their way. Republicans are considering tools to get around a filibuster,

including the high-risk, high-reward reconciliation process that would allow for a simple majority to pass legislation. Amy Held, NPR News. Tick-Tock is awaiting a decision over its future from the Supreme Court. Unless the court acts, the app is set to be banned in the U.S. in eight days. NPR's Bobbi Allen reports. Tick-Tock told the Supreme Court that shutting down the service would deprive 170 million Americans of their free expression. The government countered that TikTok's owner, ByteDance, had a chance to sever ties with the app, and it has not.

While TikTok maintains it is independent from its Beijing parent company, Chief Justice John Roberts said lawmakers determined that China has a history of exerting influence over ByteDance. It seems to me that you're ignoring the major concern here of Congress, which was Chinese manipulation of the content and acquisition and harvesting of the content. TikTok asked the court for the ban to be delayed and for the law to be overturned. President-elect Donald Trump has committed to finding a way to keep TikTok alive in the U.S. Bobby Allen, NPR News.

This is NPR News in Washington. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today Ukrainian forces have captured two North Korean soldiers in Russia's Kursk border region, and they've been taken to Kiev for questioning. They had been fighting alongside Russian troops who are attempting to take back ground that Ukraine had captured in August. In South Korea, the investigation of a plane crash last month is being hampered by a gap in evidence. Officials say both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders had stopped working about

four minutes before the plane went down, killing 179 people. Only two people survived. A southern snowstorm is moving offshore today but will maintain its icy grip on states, including parts of Georgia, from member station WABE. Emily Wu-Pearson reports. By the time the storm had passed through, just over two inches of snow fell at Hartsfield Jackson Airport, according to the National Weather Service, and a quarter of an inch of ice developed.

Cold temperatures remain in the forecast. Atlanta's airport faced hundreds of delays and cancellations on Saturday. Tens of thousands of metro Atlanta residents are without power. Utility companies worked through the night to restore services. This was the first measurable snowfall in Atlanta in several years. For NPR News, I'm Emily Will Pearson in Atlanta. The NBA is postponing its scheduled game in Atlanta today between the Houston Rockets and the Atlanta Hawks because of hazardous, icy conditions.

The NBA has also postponed the home games for both Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers because of the wildfires burning in Southern California. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.