NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-12-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: January 12, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Firefighters from Mexico arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday. They were welcomed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who says crews from around the country are helping to battle the wildfires around and in Los Angeles. We have all the western states that are providing mutual aid, nine plus states. We have 12,000 personnel working the line as we speak. Today we got up to 1,680 National Guard. They're out patrolling the streets and providing relief for law enforcement. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office meanwhile says the death toll from

the fires has now risen to 16. The LA fires have so far destroyed more than 12,000 structures and one fire is burning across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, which are home to many Hollywood actors and studio executives who live in multi-million dollar properties, so experts say these fires could become the costliest in U.S. history. Thousands of Southern Californians have lost their homes to wildfires this week. What next for each varies, but Rachel Miro from member station KQED reports that some survivors are planning to weather the near future together. Jimmy Paul and her 11-year-old daughter were already driving away from the Eaton fire when the official evacuation order came over their phones. A neighbor provided the heads-up hours earlier. Paul says her cul-de-sac at the edge of the forest has been tight-knit since the pandemic,

and that sense of community has continued in another difficult moment. We're talking about meeting up on a regular basis to help each other clean up, and maybe have some community meals, and rebuild our neighborhood together. For now, Paul and her daughter are fighting refuge in a hotel south of Altadena, but they've received an offer on a place to stay across town rent-free.

For NPR News, I'm Rachel Miro in Pasadena. And now to the other US coast, a major storm that pounded parts of the southern US is moving out over the Atlantic after dropping snow across the region and causing major disruptions at airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. Richmond, Virginia meanwhile Atlantic after dropping snow across the region and causing major disruptions at airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. Richmond Virginia, meanwhile, lifted its boil water advisory almost a week after another storm cut power and caused issues with that city's water system. As Gaza ceasefire talks were underway this weekend in Qatar, thousands of people demonstrated

in the streets of Tel Aviv they were demanding an end to the fighting and a deal that would bring their hostages home. Protester Ronnie Graf blames Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the war lasting so long. We've been there before. It was closer than ever. A few months ago, a few weeks ago, over a year ago, it never came because Netanyahu doesn't want a ceasefire agreement. The war between Israel and Hamas began in October of 2023, and there has been just one ceasefire since then. You're listening to NPR News. About two years after a universal voucher program became law in Florida,

the state's Republican governor says more than 500,000 students in the state are taking advantage of that program. Central Florida public media's Danielle Pryor has more. Governor Ron DeSantis says Florida students now account for about a third of all students throughout the country who are enrolled in school choice programs. In fact, DeSantis says he's hoping Congress passes something similar to a universal voucher program at the national level once the Trump

administration takes office. So we hope that they will consider looking at Florida's model for education choice and applying that nationally. DeSantis says when he took office in 2019, only about 100,000 students were on scholarships through the state's Step Up program. For NPR News, I'm Danielle Pryor in Orlando. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky shared photos on Saturday of two men, he says are North Korean soldiers who were fighting with Russian troops in Russia's Kursk region. North Korea has sent thousands of troops to support Russia in its war with Ukraine,

but this is the first time Ukraine has claimed to have captured any of them. President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction to Pope Francis on Saturday. Biden had intended to give the medal to the Pope in person during the last overseas trip of his presidency, but that trip was cancelled so that Biden could monitor the wildfires still underway in California. The medal is the highest civilian honor given by a president. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.