NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-20-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: January 20, 2025

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Consider This is a daily news podcast and lately the news is about a big question. How much can one guy change? They want change. What will change look like for energy? Drill, baby drill. Schools? Take the department education closer. Healthcare?

Better and less expensive. Follow coverage of a changing country. Promises made, promises kept. We're going to keep our promises. On Consider This, the afternoon news podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. Donald Trump will become president again today when he takes the oath of office at noon Eastern time.

The swearing in will be held indoors at the U.S. Capitol instead of outside on the west front of the Capitol. That's because temperatures have plunged to dangerously low levels in Washington, D.C. Trump announced the change in venue last Friday. Thousands of his supporters will watch the inauguration at a nearby Washington arena. Meanwhile, NPR's Danielle Kurtz-Lavine says some traditional inaugural events begin next hour. There's a service at St. John's Church, which is right next to the White House. Then the Bidens welcome the Trumps to the White House. Midday there's that official swearing-in ceremony. And many supporters will be crammed into that Capital

One arena watching a livestream. After that, Trump has a ceremony midday that could involve signing executive orders. And Piers Daniel Kurtz-Levin reporting. The ceasefire in Gaza continues to hold. Yesterday, Israel released about 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Hamas released three Israeli hostages. Families of hostages are in Washington. NPR's Sarah McCammon reports they're calling on the incoming Trump administration to work toward bringing all the 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. Bring them home now! At a press conference on the National Mall, Jonathan Dekelkhen, father of Israeli-American hostage Sagih Dekelkhen, 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. Dekalchen 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. Firefighters in the Los Angeles area have gained much more control over two deadly and destructive wildfires. But Steve Futterman reports crews are worried about new powerful wind warnings for the L.A. region today. The Santa Ana winds are coming back and the National Weather Service has issued new red flag warnings for widespread areas including some that were hit by fires the last two weeks. These winds are not expected to be as powerful as the ones that helped ignite the Palisades and Eaton fires but they are still viewed as a potential threat to either start new fires or reignite some hot spots that have been mostly

extinguished. The strongest winds will hit the LA area on Monday evening and continue into Tuesday. One of the areas expected to be hit hard is Ventura County, just north of LA. In addition to the winds, relative humidity could be below 10%. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. This is NPR News from Washington. The cold weather that's forced a change in the inaugural ceremony in Los Angeles. This is NPR News from Washington.

The cold weather that's forced a change in the inaugural ceremony in Washington today is spread widely across the U.S. The National Weather Service has issued warnings of extreme cold from northern Michigan to southern Texas. Wind chills could be as much as 50 degrees below zero in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Impeached South Korean President Yoon Song-yol has been formally arrested. He has been in detention and has had his mugshot taken.

Yun is being investigated over his short-lived declaration of martial law last month. Investors on Wall Street are watching as Donald Trump returns to the White House. NPR's Rafael Nam reports stocks have rallied since Trump's election, but there are some worries about his upcoming term. Investors are approaching the Trump presidency with a lot of optimism, but also some hesitation. A lot of what Trump has promised should be good for Wall Street, like lower taxes and less regulations. It's why stocks surged after he won in November. All

three major indexes are still above where they were on election day, but it has been more volatile this month. That's because investors are concerned about some parts of Trump's agenda, like widespread tariffs. If carried out, they could make inflation worse. Rafal Naim, NPR News. The Teamsters Union says its members who work at retail or Costco have authorized a nationwide strike. No strike has yet been declared. The deadline to reach a new labor agreement is at the end of the month. The Teamsters say they represent about 18,000 Costco workers.

You're listening to NPR. Lately on the NPR Politics Podcast, we're talking about a big question. How much can one guy change? What will change look like for energy? Schools? Healthcare? Follow coverage of a changing country?