NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-16-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: January 16, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington on Korova Coleman, several of President-elect Trump's cabinet nominees will appear in Senate confirmation hearings today. His choice for U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is returning for a second day. Bondi claims the Justice Department has targeted Trump for years. She insists that if she is confirmed, she will not politicize the agency. Trump's choice to be Secretary of the Interior receives, rather, receives his hearing this morning. NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is poised to play a key role in Trump's effort to boost fossil fuel production.

The Department of the Interior manages roughly one-fifth of the lands and waters of the United States. As Secretary, Burgum would have significant influence over allowing oil and gas drilling on federal lands. Interior also oversees national parks and monuments, endangered species protections, and relations with federally recognized Native American tribes. Burgum's pro-drilling stance is clear from his record as governor of an oil-rich state, but his views on conservation issues are less well known and could be the subject of questioning

at the hearing. Burgum is largely expected to be confirmed. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. Israel's prime minister says his cabinet won't meet today to approve the proposed ceasefire with Hamas for Gaza. The Israeli leader says Hamas has created a last-minute crisis. He did not elaborate. Hamas released a statement online saying it supports the deal as announced yesterday by mediators. There has been some cautious optimism in neighboring

Lebanon over a potential ceasefire, and Pierce Emily Fang has more. Celebratory gunfire erupted across Beirut from the city's Palestinian refugee camps when the ceasefire was made official. Najib Makati, Lebanon's acting prime minister, said the ceasefire ended a, quote, bloody chapter. The ceasefire is big news on Lebanon because the country itself is deeply tied to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. At least a quarter of a million Palestinian refugees and their descendants currently live

in Lebanon. And Hezbollah, the Iran-backed fighting group opposed to Israel, is also based in Lebanon. And here's Emily Fang reporting. President Biden has signed a sweeping executive order on cyber security and Piers Jenna McLaughlin has more. Ann Neuberger is President Biden's outgoing deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology. She says the president's executive order on cyber security is aimed at securing critical infrastructure and making it easier to sanction the cybercriminals that target vital sectors, like water and power.

The goal is to make it costlier and harder for China, Russia, Iran and ransomware criminals to hack. The executive action also includes direction for developing artificial intelligence algorithms that will automatically hunt for vulnerabilities and suggest patches to help defend the energy sector. Neuberger said President-elect Trump's team did not directly consult in the executive order, as he hasn't named a cyber leadership team yet.

Jenna McLaughlin, NPR News. On Wall Street, the Dow is down 130 points. This is NPR. The Vatican says Pope Francis has sustained an injury to his right forearm. The Vatican says he had a fall in his residence but did not suffer any fractures. He's wearing a sling as a precaution. The Environmental Protection Agency is concerned about so-called forever chemicals in sewage

sludge. As NPR's Ping Huang explains, the waste can cause various problems, including contaminating farms and forests. Solid sewage waste is nutrient-rich, and it sometimes gets spread as industrial fertilizer. Before it's used, it gets treated to kill pathogens, but that doesn't help to remove PFAS, a group of chemicals known as forever chemicals, because they persist for a long time in nature. PFAS have been used for decades to water and stain proof products, but the EPA says these chemicals could be causing cancer. Sludge is not commonly spread

on farms, but when it is, it can pose a danger to farm families and others nearby. EPA says PFAS from the sludge can contaminate milk, eggs, beef, and vegetables, as well as drinking water and fish in nearby waterways. The EPA has published its concerns in a draft assessment. It's now open for public comment through mid-March. Ping Huang, NPR News. The space company Blue Origin has successfully launched its first rocket into orbit. The new Glenn rocket launched overnight from Cape Canaveral.

It carries an experimental payload. The rocket is exceptionally large. It's intended to carry very heavy payloads aloft. Blue Origin mission managers hope to recover the rocket's first booster stage but say it was lost in the launch. This is NPR.