NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-13-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

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Okay, so does this sound like you? You love NPR's podcasts, you wish you could get more of all your favorite shows, and you want to support NPR's mission to create a more informed public. If all that sounds appealing, then it is time to sign up for the NPR Plus bundle. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. The largest of the fires burning in Los Angeles, the Palisades Fire, is now at 14 percent containment. But as Steve Futterman reports, the biggest concern right now is increased winds over the next 48 hours. Los Angeles is a city on edge. The new winds have arrived,

stronger Santa Ana winds are coming and residents are being warned. The next couple of days could be dangerous. We're not in the clear. I want to make sure of that. We are not in the clear as of yet. LA City Fire Chief Kristen Crowley. We must not let our guard down as we have right now extreme fire behavior. The

strongest winds are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fire crews and engine companies have been strategically pre-positioned in areas where new fires could start or where previously extinguished fires could reignite. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. Danielle Pletka Confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump's nominees get underway this week on Capitol Hill. Tomorrow, controversial military vet and Fox News host Pete Hegseth goes before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Trump nominated him to be defense secretary. But as NPR's Domenico Montanaro reports, he's facing questions about sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement and about positions he's taken regarding military policy. Hexett's hearing is going to probably be the one that's the most closely watched because

of all the controversy around him. That includes whether women should be in combat, for example, and he's likely to face some tough questioning from several senators, including Democrat Tammy Duckworth from Illinois, who lost both of her legs in the Iraq War. Impierre's Domenico Montanaro reporting. Also beginning the vetting process this week, Doug Burgum for Secretary of the Interior. President Biden is publicly calling on the incoming Trump administration to carry forward two of his priorities, artificial intelligence and clean energy.

In Piers Asmohalled reports, his comments came during a farewell speech at the State Department about his foreign policy legacy. President Biden sees these two issues as key to shaping the future of the world. And he had some sharp words for those in the next administration who have been skeptical about the clean energy transition. They don't even believe climate change is real. I think they come from a different century. They're wrong. They are dead wrong. Biden said China is trying to dominate the clean energy market and the U.S. can't allow that to happen. The other big priority he's calling on the next administration to continue is around

artificial intelligence. He says the U.S. needs to make sure it remains in the lead and should not offshore the technology. Asma Khalid, NPR News. Asia markets are trading mixed at this hour. The Nikkei in Japan down one and a half percent. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong up a half percent. This is NPR. Scientists in Canada are investigating whether bacteria can be programmed to break down plastics.

As Michigan Public's Lester Graham reports, pieces and fibers of plastic that end up in wastewater plants can pass through into streams and rivers. Using what's known as bacterial sex, a team at Ontario's University of Waterloo engineered bacteria often found in wastewater plants to try to break down plastics. In one lab experiment, the bacteria degraded 40% of a plastic cup lid in four days. PhD candidate Aaron Yip is one of the researchers. My hope is that this technology can be a platform to get rid of microplastics in different types of environments, so wastewater treatment plants being one of them and perhaps in the far future in the oceans or lakes. Yip says the next

step is to determine what's left behind after bacteria destroy the plastic and whether it or the bacteria pose a risk to the environment. For NPR News, I'm Lester Graham. Blue Origin called off its debut launch of a massive new rocket because of technical trouble. The uncrewed 320-foot New Glenn rocket was supposed to blast off early this morning with a prototype satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida, but launch controllers faced an unspecified problem with the rocket in the final minutes of the countdown and called it off. The test flight already had been delayed by rough seas that posed a risk to the company's

plan to land the first stage booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic. Blue Origin didn't immediately set a new launch date for the rocket named after astronaut John Glenn. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from NYU Langone. The NYU Langone Health App gives you access to your electronic health record. Keep track of your visits, lab results, and images all in one place. Better health starts with a better health system.