NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-18-2025 10PM EST

Episode Date: January 19, 2025

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After the election, the economy feels like one big, huh? Good thing there's the Indicator from Planet Money podcast. We take a different economic topic from the news every day and break it down in under 10 minutes. Topics like the home building shortage or the post-election crypto rally. Listen to the Indicator from Planet Money podcast from NPR and turn that, huh, into an ah. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst.

The Israeli Hamas ceasefire in Gaza is set to begin early tomorrow morning. This after more than 15 months of intense fighting. Hamas is set to release Israeli hostages while Israel will release Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The goal is a permanent end to the deadliest conflict ever between the two sides, but complications remain. And Pierce Greg Myrie has more from Tel Aviv. A lot more food and medicine should start flowing into Gaza in the coming days, but it's important to understand this will be a very drawn-out process. The first phase

stretches for six weeks, and Hamas will only release 33 of the 98 hostages during this period. Israel will scale back its troop presence in Gaza, but it won't remove all its forces until later. And here's Greg Myrie. But Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says he's treating it as temporary, and he says he retains the right to continue fighting if necessary. When President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House Monday, he will face a critical task he had tried to avoid. He'll need to work with Congress to figure out what to do with the debt ceiling, or the U.S. will run out of cash to pay its bills. And here's Rafael Nam has more.

The debt clock is ticking. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the US is on track to hit its debt ceiling on Tuesday. The US will then take what are called extraordinary measures to stretch out the government's cash and avoid a devastating default. Analysts say that could buy time until sometime in the summer. Last year, Trump had urged the previous Congress to abolish the debt ceiling, but lawmakers did not. So now Trump and the new GOP-controlled Congress will need to raise, suspend, or even get rid of the debt ceiling, something many Republicans campaign against.

Debt fights are always tough and contentious. This one will test the partisan dynamics in new ways, too. Rafael Nal, NPR News. Inspectors in California are doing damage assessment on thousands of homes affected by the Los Angeles wildfires. Some are looking at the houses that withstood the flames to see what, if anything, those homeowners did right. And here's Lauren Summers has more.

It's a strange sight. Dozens of homes burn to the ground and then there are a handful that are untouched. Sometimes it's just luck. But fire experts on the ground in Los Angeles are finding some of those homeowners took key precautions. A team from the nonprofit research group, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety is looking at that. They're finding it's crucial to clear vegetation and plants away from the house, especially within five feet of the walls. Using fire-resistant siding and roofing also helped, since it can often withstand the barrage of embers that a wildfire produces.

Lauren Summer, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. South Korea's impeached president, Yoon Sung-yeol, has formally been arrested days after being apprehended at his presidential compound in Seoul. He faces possible imprisonment over his ill-fated declaration of martial law last month. Yoon's arrest today could result in him being in custody for months. The Seoul Western District Court granted the request for an arrest warrant following an hours-long deliberation saying he might destroy evidence. While most Louisianans no longer speak French, Aubrey Juas of member station WWNO reports a growing number of schools in the state are immersing kids in the language. Lana Lacomte and Juliette Verdan are in the second grade at a new public French immersion school

southwest of New Orleans. Can you tell me both ways to say alligator? Un alligator, un cocodre. Mm, which one do you like more? Cocodre. Cocodre. That's the Cajun word. It's actually pronounced cocodre.

And there's another way people who speak French in this part of the state might say alligator, caiman. It's a native word. Most people used to speak French in Louisiana, dating back to when it was a French colony. There are a few native speakers left, but schools like this one are trying to bring the language back in all its many varieties. For NPR News, I'm Aubrey Yuhas in Poinacen, Louisiana. And if all playoff games are being held this weekend with the winners advancing to the conference championship round to determine who goes to the Super Bowl, today the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans 23 to 14.

I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington. Every weekday, Up First gives you the news you need to start your day. Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.