NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-11-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Several destructive wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles County. The Palisades Fire, the largest at more than 21,000 acres. The Eaton Fire is the second largest. It scorched nearly 14,000 acres. At least 11 people have died between the two. LAS reporter Mackenna Sievertson has the latest. Officials worry that the death toll and the devastation will continue to rise. More than 10,000

structures are believed to be lost or damaged and it's still unclear how many of those or people's homes. Some communities have lost almost everything, especially in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. Forecasters say the worst of the winds that fueled the Eaton and Palisades fires and several other blazes that sparked in Southern California this week have passed. But officials warned the area is not out of danger yet, with more red flag fire conditions expected to return next week. For NPR News, I'm McKenna Sievertson in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Fire Department issued a series

of new evacuation orders and warnings last night. The orders affect the eastern end of the Palisades Fire near the 405 Freeway. The winter storm that's been moving through the South has led to more than 100,000 power outages in Georgia. In Tennessee, schools, colleges, libraries, and government offices were closed Friday. From Member Station WPLN in Nashville, Justin Barney reports on the day off for school kids.

With schools closed and cars bared in snow, one East Nashville city street transformed into a perfect hill for sledding. The kids won't have long in this street though. Following last year's winter storm that ground the city to a halt for nearly a week, the city acquired 19 brand new snow plows that are now being put to use. Even so, this winter storm has caused some issues for the area. In Nashville's Wedgwood, Houston neighborhood, one car crashed into a power pole, knocking out power. Forecasters say it could be until early next week before the snow melts.

For NPR News, I'm Justin Barney in Nashville. President-elect Donald Trump will begin his term in office as a convicted and sentenced felon. Trump received no jail time, probation or fines in the hush money case during Friday's sentencing hearing. New York Judge Juan Marchand gave Trump what's called an unconditional discharge, saying it was the only sentence that could be applied to an incoming president. Here's Andrea Bernstein. In his order last week, Marchand was tough on Trump and his lawyers. He said this was a serious crime Trump was convicted of, that it has what lawyers call

gravamen, precisely because, quote, it was pre-meditated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world that is the gravamen of this offense but today mershon said he had no choice that although trump was quote an ordinary defendant the office he is going to inhabit is not this is npr following arguments friday on whether a law should take effect that could ban the popular short video app TikTok. MPR's Bobby Allen says the US Supreme Court is expected to rule soon. So we're waiting to hear if the court is going to delay the ban start date and then also when it will rule on the merits, which will be in the coming days. And of course, there was president-elect Donald Trump who has vowed to save TikTok.

And that might throw another wrench into this situation. Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, TikTok could be banned by January 19th over national security concerns. The app's parent company is based in China. More than 200 passengers and crew members had to evacuate a Minneapolis-bound Delta Airlines flight on an Atlanta runway Friday morning after an engine failed during takeoff.

Matt Sepick of Minnesota Public Radio reports that the FAA says it will investigate the incident. 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. And I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News.