NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-13-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington on Corva Coleman, California officials say at least 24 people have now been killed by the Los Angeles wildfires. NPR's Adrian Florido says the two major wildfires blazing are still out of control. Firefighters are gradually containing the Eaton fire in northeast L.A. and the Palisades fire on the west side. Each of those fires destroyed thousands of homes. They are now burning mostly in the unpopulated hills, but they are still spreading. There were new evacuation orders over the weekend in neighborhoods that the fires were approaching. The big concern

now is that winds are about to pick up again. There could be gusts as high as 70 miles per hour in some areas. And here's Adrienne Florido reporting. Most of the deaths in the LA County wildfires have come in the Eaton fire burning in the Pasadena, Altadena area. Elise Hu reports on two victims who perished in Altadena. Both family members who died in the Eaton fire faced disabilities.

Anthony Mitchell Sr. was a 67-year-old amputee. His son, Justin Mitchell, who also died in the fire, had cerebral palsy. The family says the pair were waiting to be evacuated as flames reached their neighborhood. Hajim White is Anthony Mitchell's daughter. I just lost it.

I started screaming. I called my husband, he was like, what's wrong, what's wrong? I said, my daddy and brothers go. Crews have begun search and recovery operations using cadaver dogs to locate any additional victims. For NPR News, I'm Elise Hough in Los Angeles.

Areas in the central U.S., the South and parts of the mid-Atlantic are recovering from a winter storm. As much as seven inches of snow fell on parts of Texas and Oklahoma over the past several days. Parts of Arkansas got up to a foot. That's about a year's worth of snow in a single storm. This storm cut power to thousands of customers and delayed thousands of flights over the weekend, especially in Atlanta.

Many homeowners are rushing to install solar panels before President-elect Trump takes office and possibly eliminates subsidies for the climate friendly energy source. NPR's Jeff Brady reports Trump campaigned on rescinding parts of a 2022 climate law that includes the credits. In the Boston suburbs, Jorge Solaris decided last summer to install solar on his house. Installation took a while and after the election, he pushed to get the panels hooked up by the end of last year. Solaris worried a 30% tax credit that

saved him $8,000 might end under Trump. Since we're spending so much money on this, the federal credit was just the way for us to get it. We needed that. Otherwise it's just too expensive. Solar installation companies say some customers are deciding against solar because of the uncertainty They also worry ending federal subsidies could disrupt the fast growth solar has experienced in recent years Jeff Brady NPR news you're listening to NPR The initial launch of blue origins new Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida was scrubbed early this morning. Mission managers said it was due to what they called a vehicle subsystem issue. From Central Florida public media, Marianne Summerall has more.

A new launch window has not been set yet. Teams attempted to launch the rocket last week, but conditions at sea where the rocket was set to land on a barge force the delays. With seven reusable engines and the ability to carry 45 tons of payloads into low earth orbit it is Blue Origin's largest rocket. Blue Origin will attempt to land the vehicle's first stage booster that has seven reusable engines on a barge at sea. For NPR News, I'm Marion Summerall in Orlando. South Korean authorities say they believe about 300 troops from North Korea have been killed in combat in Ukraine. They say South Korea's spy agency estimates another 2,700 have been injured.

At least two North Korean troops have been captured by Ukrainian forces, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he's willing to return them to North Korea if North Korea's leader helps set up a prisoner exchange. The troops reportedly have not expressed a desire to defect to another country. The world's largest religious gathering has now opened in Prayagraj, India. Over the next six weeks, nearly 400 million Hindus will join the Mahakum festival being held there. Many will conduct ritual bathing in the confluence of three rivers, including the Ganges. The Hindu festival is held about once every 12 years. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.