NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-19-2025 8PM EST

Episode Date: January 20, 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 Hurst.

President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters celebrated the day before his inauguration with a rally in downtown Washington DC tonight and Piers Daniel Kurtzleben has more. The rally celebrated Trump's November win while also maintaining the MAGA identity of a movement that's continually fighting. Once and for all, we're going to end the reign of a failed and corrupt political establishment in Washington, a failed administration. We're not going to take it anymore. The hours-long rally featured performances from Kid Rock and the Village People, as well as appearances from actor John Voight and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Supporters will return on Monday to the arena, where they will be able to watch a live stream of Trump's inauguration after it was moved inside due to cold weather. The inauguration parade has also been moved inside the arena. Danielle Kurtzleman, NPR News, Washington. Three Israeli women held hostage in Gaza have been released and are back in Israel today, getting medical attention at a hospital. And another 30 are expected to be released over the next several weeks. And Israel has released nearly 100 Palestinian detainees and prisoners as part of the Gaza

ceasefire agreement. And as NPR's Sarah McCammon reports, families of Israeli hostages are calling on the Trump administration to work toward bringing the remaining hostages home. More than 90 hostages are believed to still be held captive by Hamas in Gaza, and many of their families have been putting pressure on world leaders to secure their release.

We live home now! At a press conference on the National Mall, Jonathan Dekelkhen, father of Israeli-American hostage Sagih Dekelchen, thanked both the Biden and incoming Trump administrations for working together on the deal. We know their commitment. We feel their commitment. We need their commitment for all 98 to come home.

Dekelchen was joined by other families and former hostage Noah Argimani. She was rescued by Israeli forces in June, and her partner remains a hostage in Gaza. Sarah McCammon, NPR News, Washington. Los Angeles fire crews have made progress in containing the deadly and destructive wildfires, but as Elise Hugh reports, about 80,000 people remain under evacuation orders. Many Angelenos are eager to survey the damage in their neighborhoods and see what can be salvaged. But fire crews say repopulation won't happen until those areas are considered safe.

Crews have to clean up toxic ash, hazardous waste, and make repairs to power and water infrastructure first. The Eaton and Palisades fires are the two most destructive in Southern California history. And another surge of Santa Ana winds are expected late Monday into Tuesday. For NPR News, I'm Elise Hue in Los Angeles. And those fires have been burning since January 7th.

You're listening to NPR News from Washington. President Biden spent his final full day in office in South Carolina today saying the fight to redeem America's soul is difficult and ongoing. We must hold on to hope. We must stay engaged. We must always keep the faith in a better day to come. This while reflecting on the influence of both the civil rights movement and the state itself in his political trajectory, Biden spoke at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church about his life in public service and being influenced by his political heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, as he thanked the state for its support, saying,

I owe you big. The early win in South Carolina and the 2020 Democratic Party helped catapult him to the White House. Homes and businesses are going to need a lot more electricity in the coming years, and here's Michael Copley reports it could make it harder to rein in climate change. Power demand is rising because companies are building new data centers and factories and because homes and businesses are buying things like cars and heat pumps that run on electricity. And more homes need air conditioning.

For utilities that have to keep the lights on, the fossil fuel natural gas looks like a good way to meet that growing demand, and that could mean decades of additional emissions that are raising global temperatures. Market analysts say that may not lead to a spike in climate pollution since coal plants keep retiring, but scientists say the world needs to move a lot faster to cut heat-trapping emissions to avoid even more extreme impacts from climate change. Michael Copley, NPR News. Wall Street is closed tomorrow in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies, sending You're listening to NPR News from Washington.