NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-14-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

NPR News: 01-14-2025 7AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, on Korova Coleman, the Justice Department has published one part of the report from Special Counsel Jack Smith. NPR's Carrie Johnson tells us Smith investigated allegations of election interference by President -elect Trump. The report concludes there was enough evidence for a jury in Washington, D.C. to convict Trump for trying to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election. Prosecutors say Trump engaged in a campaign, a pervasive deceit about those election results, and that he stood at the center of a criminal conspiracy.

Jack Smith says the rule of law matters, and so does setting an example to pursue justice in the face of personal attacks and threats. But he walked away from the election interference case because longstanding Justice Department policy prohibits prosecuting a sitting president. Trump will be sworn in for his second term next Monday. In a social media post, Trump called Smith names and said the voters in 2024 had spoken, returning him to the White House. Kari Johnson, NPR News, Washington. Meanwhile, a federal judge has

temporarily blocked a second volume of Jack Smith's report that covers the special prosecutor's case against Trump that alleged mishandling of classified documents and obstructing justice as officers tried to retrieve them. Confirmation hearings opened this week for several of President-elect Trump's cabinet nominees. They begin today with the Senate Armed Services Committee and Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. And Piers Domenico Montanaro reports the hearings will be tests for the appointees and for Trump.

Senators in general believe presidents should be able to pick their own teams, but as part of the Senate's advise and consent role, nominees are required to take questions about their qualifications and plans for how they would run these important agencies. Many Americans are likely unfamiliar with the nominees, so this will be the first time many will be hearing from them. It amounts to a test of the nominees' ability to show they can handle scrutiny, and it's also a test of Trump's political capital as he navigates very narrow majorities in both the House and the Senate.

Domenico Montanaro, NPR News, Washington. Forecasters say powerful winds are returning to the Los Angeles area today. Fire crews say they're prepared to fight any flare-ups or new blazes. The biggest fire, the Palisades Fire West of Los Angeles, is only 14% contained. President Biden says the nation needs to help Los Angeles

recover from the firestorm. It's gonna cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles back from the firestorm. It's gonna cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles back to where it was. So we're gonna need Congress to step up to provide funding to get this done. But House Speaker Mike Johnson says stipulations should be set on that funding to L.A. I think there should probably be conditions on that, Abe.

That's my personal view. We'll see what the consensus is. I haven't had a chance to socialize that with any of the members over the weekend because we've all been very busy, but it'll be part of the discussion. The speaker did not offer specifics on what those conditions on the aid might be. You're listening to NPR. A new competitor may try to buy U.S. steel. The CEO of U.S. company Cleveland Cliffs is expressing interest in the storied American Company. President Biden has blocked the sale of U.S. steel to Japanese corporation Nippon Steel.

He said that was on grounds of national interest and security. 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. The launch of Blue Origin's new Glenn Space Rocket is now scheduled for Thursday at the earliest.

The 320-foot rocket tried to blast off from Cape Canaveral in Florida yesterday, but the launch was scrubbed due to ice buildup. The rocket will carry a prototype satellite into space. Billionaire Jeff Bezos is the founder of Blue Origin. You're listening to NPR.