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

Episode Date: January 11, 2025

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Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dwahleesah Kaotow. More communities are under threat in Los Angeles as the Palisades fire continues to burn and now inches closer to new neighborhoods. Elise Hu reports. Flames are stretching into the communities of Brentwood, West LA, and Mandeville Canyon in Los Angeles. Firefighters are conducting air drops and digging lines on the ground in an effort to stop the flames from spreading. They are racing to contain the Palisades Fire, which is already the biggest of the wildfires in the county, ahead of more wind events forecast for Monday. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Morrone gave an update Saturday morning.

LA County Fire will be prepared. These winds, combined with dry air and dry vegetation, will keep the fire threat in Los Angeles County high. Dusk to dawn curfews are in effect for Palisades and Eaton fire evacuation zones. For NPR News, I'm Elise Hugh in 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 the GOP is strategizing over how to push through its priorities. 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. Ukraine's president says his soldiers have captured North Korean troops fighting for Russia. Thousands of North Korean soldiers are now involved in the war as NPR's Joanna Kikis reports. Writing on the social media app Telegram, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the two North Korean soldiers were wounded in Kursk, the Russian border region partly occupied by

Ukraine. He said the soldiers are cooperating with Ukraine's domestic intelligence service and will be available to speak to journalists. A unit of Ukraine's special operations forces also released this video complete with dramatic music showing the capture of the North Korean soldiers. In the video one soldier appears listless as medics swab at his wounds. Zelensky shared photos of another injured soldier with bandaged arms in a striped sweater. He said the soldiers are being treated for their injuries in Kiev.

Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Lviv. This is NPR. The nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, a rare award, is going to Pope Francis. President Biden made the announcement just hours ago, after having called His Holiness to congratulate the 88-year-old. In a statement, Biden says the first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere, Pope Francis, is unlike any who came before. Biden added, above all, he's the people's Pope, a light of faith, hope and love that shines brightly across the world. Biden was scheduled to fly to the Vatican this weekend, but canceled due to the California

wildfires. Sam Moore of the Solon-R&B duo Sam and Dave has died. Yesterday in a Coral Gables Florida hospital after undergoing surgery he was 89 and Pierce Chloe Veltman has this remembrance. Sam Moore was the higher voice of the duo, Dave Prater the lower. They were best known for songs they wrote in the 1960s like Soulman, and Hold On I'm coming. Sam Moore was born in 1935 in Miami and started out singing in church. He and Prater met at a Miami nightclub in the early 1960s.

After early success, their careers went through ups and downs. They broke up more than once and pursued solo careers. Prater died in a car crash in 1988. Sam and Dave were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The duo received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 2019. Chloe Veltman, NPR News.