NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-13-2025 3AM EST

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. As fire crews continue their efforts to contain the wildfires that have been tearing across the Los Angeles region since last Wednesday, they're also keeping one eye on the weather, and reporter Steve Futterman says that high winds are in the forecast. Officials here in Southern California say they are ready, they are prepared for these new winds. Many fire crews and engine companies have been pre-positioned in places that are thought to be vulnerable to either new fires or a reigniting of these previous fires.

And another important thing to consider, even though these winds the next three days will be strong, there's no doubt they will be strong. They are not expected to be as strong as the winds last Tuesday and Wednesday, which really resulted in most of the damage. That's Steve Futterman reporting from Los Angeles. Fire officials in California, meanwhile, say at least 12,000 structures have been destroyed as those wildfires raged through the Los Angeles area. In Altadena, where so many homes have been reduced to ash, a tight-knit community is

grieving. NPR's Emma Bowman has more. Yoel Carter-Martinez and her son Pedro lost their home in the Eton fire. The Pasadena school where she taught Spanish is also gone. But she says what's most important remains. We have lost the house. We haven't lost the home. We lost our school, the building, but we haven't lost the school community. Pedro is still in disbelief. All the streets that were being shown on TV about the Dina burning and all that were like, that is where we want. That is where every day I go to Aldi and get my groceries or to the hardware store to do whatever my tinkering things. It's like,

it can't be real until they figure out what's next the family says they will stay with a friend. Emma Bowman NPR News. Temperatures in Atlanta and across the south are still cold but the weather is calmer now since a winter storm hit on Friday. After a rare snowfall Georgia remains in a state of emergency though until Tuesday. For Member Station WABE in Atlanta, Dormea Vance reports. As of Sunday morning, the National Weather Service reported possible slick spots and patches of black ice as snow melts or refreezes. Temperatures are forecast to dip below freezing into the midweek. More than two inches of snow fell in Atlanta during the storm. It was the first time since 2018, the city had seen more than an inch of snow. Thousands of flights were canceled or delayed from Hartsfield Jackson Airport

starting Friday into the weekend. Meanwhile, power was restored to thousands of households that had lost it. For NPR News, I'm Dormai Evans in Atlanta. Zoran Milanovic has won reelection to a second five-year term as the president of Croatia. He defeated a Conservative Party candidate by receiving more than 74 percent of the vote on Sunday. Milanovic is a fierce opponent of the country's prime minister and a critic of the EU and NATO. This is NPR News.

Ceasefire talks for the war between Israel and Hamas are continuing at this hour in Qatar, and one Israeli official says a potential agreement is close. President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss those negotiations. Biden has been pushing for a deal before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump later this month. Fresh from leading the US team to victory in the United Cup last week, Coco Gough has launched her Australian Open campaign with a straight-sets win in the first round in Melbourne.

As Christina Kukolia reports, she's one of 13 US players in action on day two of that Grand Slam tournaments. It took just over an hour for women's world number three Coco Gough to eliminate fellow American and 2020 champion Sophia Kennan from the Australian Open, beating her 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the next round of the women's singles in Melbourne. Also through American Frances Tiafoe, the men's 17th seed, with a victory over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknecht.

7th seed Jessica Pagula is up against Australian wild-card entry Maya Joint and 10th seed Danielle Collins faces Ukrainian qualifier Darya Snigur. For NPR News, I'm Christina Kukola in Melbourne. NBA games will be resuming in Los Angeles later tonight after cancellations that were caused by the wildfires there. The Clippers will be hosting the Miami Heat while the Lakers will be welcoming the San Antonio Spurs. Both games will be played in their normal team locations. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.