NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-16-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: January 16, 2025

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This message comes from NPR sponsor Paramount Pictures new film September 5. Based on the true story of reporters covering the Munich Olympics, when the unthinkable happens, four outsiders will report from the inside, now playing in select theaters everywhere January 17th. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Tens of millions of TikTok users in the U.S. are facing the real prospect of TikTok going dark as of Sunday. As the fate of the video sharing app hangs in the balance, the company's CEO, Sho Chu, is planning to attend President-elect Trump's inauguration ceremony Monday. NPR's Bobby Allen reports, Chu is set to join other high-profile guests, including presidential

advisor and tech CEO, Elon Musk. Show Chu is expected to be at Trump's inaugural address on Monday, along with other tech executives like Metta's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and OpenAI's Sam Altman. For Chu, it comes during a fraught moment for TikTok and the 170 million Americans who use the video app. Biden signed a law banning the service unless it cuts ties with its China-based owner. It hasn't, and the Supreme Court is now weighing whether to let the ban begin or intervene to stop it. Trump has vowed to figure out a way to save TikTok, even though he tried to ban the app in his first term. In the wake of Trump's

victory in November, the tech industry has been repositioning policies ahead of his entering the White House. Bobbi Allen, NPR News. Some progress and setbacks today in the massive firefighting operation in the Los Angeles area. NPR's Janaki Mehta has an update. The good news is that the red flag warnings that were in place yesterday have expired. Fire crews have made more progress containing two of the biggest fires, so the Palisades

to the west and the Eaton to the east. And forecasters also expect some moisture in the air Friday and into the weekend, which could really help firefighters make more headway. Now the downside is another round of fast moving winds could be back Sunday night and last into next week. So the next couple days are crucial, but full containment could take weeks. Jinnaki Mehta reporting. Preparations are underway to help facilitate

President-elect Trump's promise to deport millions of immigrants who are in the country without legal status. NPR's Meg Anderson reports on what key players in the immigration detention system are doing. Private prison companies own or operate most of the facilities used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. One of them, GeoGroup, told NPR it's investing $70 million toward more housing, transportation, and monitoring capabilities.

County jails, which rent space to ICE or to those private companies, are also preparing. Brian Kozak, the sheriff in Laramie County, Wyoming, says his jail has more than 200 empty beds he plans to offer to Ike. Our jail offers pretty good resources to help people in their transition. Some state officials are eager to help, too. Texas officials have promised Trump 1,400 acres for a detention camp. Meg Anderson, NPR News.

The Israeli security Cabinet is now expected to vote tomorrow on the ceasefire agreement with Hamas that mediators announced yesterday. The deal would begin with the release of hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners. You're listening to NPR News. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has reached a settlement with two former Georgia election workers. Under the settlement, Giuliani keeps his homes and personal belongings.

In exchange, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wondrea Shama, say they're receiving compensation and a promise he will never defame them again. The former election workers had sued Giuliani, saying his lies about 2020 election fraud put their lives in danger. Director David Lynch, known for work such as Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet, and the groundbreaking TV series Twin Peaks has died, according to a statement from his family. He was 78 years old. A new study of human ancestors who lived millions of years ago suggests that they ate a largely vegetarian

diet. NPR's Nell Greenfield-Bois reports, scientists learn this by analyzing tiny samples of tooth enamel. A diet rich in meat leaves telltale chemical signatures in tooth enamel. Researchers describe a new way to test for this and say they tested teeth found in a South African cave. These teeth came from seven individuals. All were Australopithecus, a small brained,

ape-like ancestor that lived around three million years ago. Tina Ludicke is with the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany. All of these seven individuals were probably not engaging in a lot of meat consumption. So these were plant eaters. Next, they want to test other early ancestors to see whether a changing diet may have fueled the evolution of big complex human brains.

Nell Greenfield-Bois, NPR News. It's NPR. Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.