NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-12-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: January 12, 2025

NPR News: 01-12-2025 3PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Noor Ram, NPR News. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Ram. Fire crews are battling to contain several major wildfires in Southern California. As forecasters warn, there could be more strong winds in the days to come. The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office is investigating at least 16 deaths. L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna confirms at least 14 people in his jurisdiction died and at least 16 people are missing. Luna said he understands that residents want to go home and check on their property.

They shouldn't. I stopped by several checkpoints, both in Altadena and Malibu yesterday. I personally listened to residents, please, please let me back in. So I'm just going to say this, in driving around some of these areas, they literally look like war zones. There are downed power poles, electric wires. There are still some smoldering fires.

It is not safe. Health officials are warning some people in the region their water isn't safe. The advisories are for those living near the largest burn zones. As NPR's Ping Wong reports, urban wildfires have specific risks for drinking water. Loryn Johnson Residents near the wildfires, including those in Pasadena and the Pacific Palisades, should not drink the tap water.

They should not make food or ice with it. They should even consider not showering or washing dishes with it. These warnings were issued over concerns of chemical contamination from the wildfires. Jackson Webster is a civil engineer at Chico State in California. Not everybody in all of Southern California needs to be concerned about their water right now, but there are certainly systems that have been damaged that probably will have lasting contamination issues. Webster says the low water pressure has created a vacuum that pulls ash and soot back into the water system. You may not be able to see or smell it. Officials will need to test the water to see what's in it. Ping Huang, NPR News.

President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. The two leaders discussed negotiations now underway in Qatar designed to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza after more than a year of war in which Israeli hostages would be released in exchange for Palestinian detainees. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf has more. The two leaders discussed, quote, progress in the negotiations, according to a brief statement from the prime minister's office. A readout from the White House after the phone call said that Biden, quote, stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid.

The call was just a day after President-elect Trump's new envoy to the region, Steve Whitkoff, made a surprise visit to Israel to meet with Netanyahu. Whitkoff had been attending the talks in Doha. Meanwhile, fighting in Gaza remains deadly. At least 28 Palestinians were killed in the past day, according to health officials there. Four Israeli soldiers were also killed,

according to the military. Kat Lanzdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is NPR News in Washington. In South Korea, the first hearing in the impeachment trial of President Yun Song-yol is scheduled for Tuesday. His lawyer says he won't be there. Yun has been in his residence where his security detail has blocked police from arresting him on criminal charges of insurrection for his brief declaration of martial law last month.

A Chinese scientist has named 16 newly discovered spider species after songs by the Taiwan-born mando pop artist Jay Chou, one of the most influential singers in Mandarin. Ashish Valentine reports from Taipei. That's Starry Mood or Xingqin, one of J. Cho's earliest hit singles. Now it's also the name of a newly discovered species of spider, thanks to Mi Xiaoqi, a professor at Tongran University in southwestern China. It's rare for a scientific paper to go viral, but that's exactly what happened when Mi's article about the new spider species got picked up on Chinese social media.

Users are calling him J. Cho's ultimate fan. Mi told Chinese state media he hoped this would bring scientific research closer to the public and hopefully help with conservation. For NPR News, I'm Ashish Valentine in Taipei. Blue Origin is planning its maiden launch of its new Glenn rocket early tomorrow morning. The rocket is the size of a 30-story skyscraper. It's designed to be reusable. Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is challenged the advantage in the

space industry, now held by SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.