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Episode Date: January 21, 2025

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What's in store for the music, TV, and film industries for 2025? We don't know, but we're making some fun, bold predictions for the new year. Listen now to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. In one of his first official actions as the nation's 47th president, Donald Trump has issued pardons for participants in the January 6 ride at the U.S. Capitol four years ago, the pardons of at least 1,500 people fulfilling a campaign promise Trump made to his supporters. San Francisco Ordonia reports he also signed a number of executive actions dealing with

the U.S. border and said tariffs are still on the table. A theme of the campaign has been about the U.S.'s position in the U.S. border and said tariffs are still on the table. A theme of the campaign has been about the U.S.' position in the world. Trump did say he still intends to put tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but is looking in February as a target date. He also promised an executive order that signals America's place as, quote, the greatest, most respected nation on Earth. NPR's Franco Ordoniez, Trump also signed actions taking the U.S. out of the Paris climate talks and withdrawing from the World Health Organization. President Trump has signed an executive action directing federal agencies to bring their employees back to the office full time. NPR's Andrea Schue reports more than a million federal workers are in positions considered telework eligible. The move comes as part of Trump's efforts to drastically change the federal bureaucracy. Trump ordered federal agencies to quote, take all necessary steps to terminate

remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis. More than half of federal workers already work in person full-time, according to the government. Roughly 10 percent are fully remote. The rest have hybrid work arrangements which vary across agencies. The largest federal employee union is asking the Trump administration to rethink the decision, arguing that restricting telework will make it harder for the government to compete for top talent. Andrea Hsu, NPR News. President Trump says he'll travel to LA County Friday to survey the devastation wrought by the Palisades

and Eaton fires, which are still burning. Rachel Miro, member station KQED, reports winds are picking up again, and forecasters say gusts from dangerous Santa Ana winds could peak at 70 miles along the coast, 70 miles an hour along the coast, and 100 miles an hour in the mountains. There's widespread concern in Southern California.

The new administration is not going to deliver the federal emergency aid many are counting on. Senator Alex Padilla of California says he's confident Trump will approve emergency aid just as a long line of presidents have done before him. But we should not condition disaster aid because the state is red or blue or anything else. It would set a horrible and dangerous precedent. With more than two dozen people dead and more than 12,000 structures destroyed or damaged,

the Palisades and Eaton fires together could be the costliest in the nation's history. For NPR News, I'm Rachel Miro. U.S. financial markets were closed for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday today. Stocks closed higher in Asia and Europe. This is NPR. During his first term in office, President Trump opposed the video sharing app TikTok, citing threats to US national security. But returning to the White House for a second time, he's being termed as the app savior.

Trump signing an executive order that would pause a ban on the app for a second, for a period of time, but potentially allow for a sale. TikTok briefly went dark over the weekend. However, the company's Chinese parent, Bite Dance, started restoring service on Sunday. An international panel of experts is recommending a more objective way

to analyze body composition and body fat. If yours Allison Aubrey reports the goal is to move away from BMI as a measure of health. A common assumption is that everyone with a high BMI or body mass index is unhealthy and needs to lose weight but many athletes and people with stocky builds may be misclassified as overweight or obese if they have a high BMI but low body fat. Now, Dr. Robert Kushner of Northwestern University, who was part of the Lancet Commission that made the recommendation, says it's time for a change. We are now recommending that individuals have another measurement obtained that more directly gets an estimate of body fat, such as waist circumference. Or to get direct measures of body fat through screening techniques, such as the DEXA scan,

if available. Alison Aubry, NPR News. We're today from Texas. Departments of the South continue to hold a sizable swath of the US and its grip. Continued wintry weather, bringing snow and ice to a number of parts of the country that don't usually see it. Winter storm warnings are in place for areas of the country,

including New York state, where heavy lake effect snow is expected today through midweek. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. Workers have been feeling the sting of inflation. So as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest post-election day spike ever, follow all the big changes and what they mean for you. Make America affordable again.

Listen to The Indicator, the daily economics podcast from NPR.