NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-12-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: January 12, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. All eyes are on wind conditions as fire crews work to contain major blazes in the Los Angeles area and NPR's Elise Hue has the latest. LA County firefighters say they're entering a critical stage in their six-day battle against the deadly wildfires. The biggest, the Coastal Palisades Fire, is at least 11% contained. But the flames are dangerously close to densely populated parts of Los Angeles, including Brentwood and the San Fernando Valley.

CAL FIRE Chief Deputy Director Anna Lee Berlew. We know we have not only a firefight ahead on this incident still and on the Eaton incident, but also with the wind events that are here with us already and coming over the coming days. She said she expects Santa Ana winds to kick up new fires as conditions remain bone dry. The cause of these fires is still under investigation. For NPR News, I'm Elise Hu in Los Angeles. Ceasefire talks underway in Qatar were the focus of today's talks between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The negotiations aim to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza

after more than a year of war. The latest talks would see Israeli hostages released in exchange for Palestinian detainees, and PR'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 Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. After a freezing winter, storms shut schools, cut power, and canceled or delayed flights. The South is slowly thawing. Warmer winter weather is melting snow and ice. And letting crews restore power. Power is back in parts of North Carolina and South Carolina where tens of thousands of customers lost electricity over the last few days.

In Atlanta, about a thousand flights were cancelled or delayed. Airport officials say all roadways and parking lots were cleared of snow by Sunday. And all runways are operational. Power was back for 97 percent of the retail customers served by Georgia Power, the state's largest utility, which serves all but four of the state's 159 counties. If President Biden is looking for ideas for retirement, he'd need look no farther than that of past presidents. This is NPR News. Ships that transport everything from coffee cups to clothes across the ocean are often so large,

no one notices when they collide with a whale. But new research could help reduce those collisions. Northwest Public Broadcasting Courtney Flatt reports. Representative Mike Lawler of New York met with Trump on Saturday to talk taxes. Here's Lawler on Fox News. The only red line I have is that if there is a tax bill that does not lift the cap on salt, I would not support that. Salt deductions allow some taxpayers to deduct state and local taxes from their federal tax

payments. The issue is a sticking point for a number of House Republicans and underlines their fragile majority in the House. Lawler worries crafting two separate bills on taxes and immigration will lead to legislative chaos. I fundamentally believe that is best accomplished in one bill because the reality is our margin in the House is too small to screw around. Last week, Trump met with Senate Republican leaders who favor two bills, Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. Mike Vrabel is the new head coach of the New England Patriots. He played eight seasons with the Patriots and was a member of its first three Super Bowl-winning teams. Vrabel is also in the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Wintery temperatures did not stop Londoners today who ventured into the London Underground without trousers. From Westminster to Waterloo and South Kensington, scores of passengers participated in the city's annual No Trousers Too Bride. The idea behind the annual event is not to scandalize, but to create a momentary lighthearted break. This is NPR News.