NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-21-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: January 21, 2025

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Matt Wilson spent years doing rounds at children's hospitals in New York City. I had a clip-on tie. I wore Heelys, size 11. Matt was a medical clown. The whole of a medical clown is to reintroduce the sense of play and joy and hope and light into a space that doesn't normally inhabit. Ideas about navigating uncertainty. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan.

1,500 men and women who were involved and convicted in connection with the January 6th, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol have received pardons from President Trump. In one of his first acts as president, just hours after being sworn in for his second term, Trump signed a number of executive orders and other documents in the Oval Office. So this is January 6th. These are the hostages. Approximately 1,500 for a pardon. Full pardon. A bipartisan U.S. Senate report said the January 6th attack left several people dead, including Capitol Police officers, as a result of their injuries and suicides. In all, more than 140 officers were hurt.

There was some relief in Ottawa Monday when President Trump didn't mention tariffs during his inaugural address. As Dan Karpanchuk reports, the relief was short-lived when Trump later added tariffs would likely be slapped on Canada and Mexico February 1. Canadians had been bracing for the 25 percent tariffs to take effect immediately. Now leaders here say they are more hopeful that they have time to negotiate and persuade Trump to give up the idea of punishing tariffs of 25 percent. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie says the Canadians will now be working on preventing the tariffs

and at the same time preparing countermeasures. Canada's federal government had been developing a three-phase counter-tariff response to roll out on Inauguration Day. That will now likely come when and if Trump goes ahead with the tariffs. Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he's not certain about Trump's next moves, but says, quote, make no mistake about it, he's coming for us. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpanchuk in Toronto. The U.S. Senate has unanimously confirmed Florida Republican Marco Rubio as the next

Secretary of State Monday. NPR's Claudia Grisels reports Rubio is the first Trump cabinet pick to get a vote. Marco Rubio is making history as the first Latino to serve as secretary of state. And bipartisan support sped his nomination through the Senate confirmation process. However, there's a long list of Trump nominees, including several controversial picks, who will face more delays or in some cases opposition. Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran and former Fox host, beset by

allegations of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse, will see his Senate vote delayed as a result of Democratic opposition. Confirmation hearings have yet to be scheduled for Cash Patel for FBI Director, Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Health Secretary. Claudia Grisales, NPR News. Ohio State are the national champs of college football.

They beat Notre Dame. This is NPR News. Wall Street was closed Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday. It will reopen Monday. Meanwhile, oil prices have increased for four weeks in a row. West Texas Intermediate Crude is now $77 a barrel, up $7 since late December as traders assess the new Trump administration. The Hubble Space Telescope has completed the most comprehensive survey yet of the Andromedia Galaxy.

As NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, the new images will help scientists understand the history of our galactic neighbor. The spiral-shaped Andromeda Galaxy is the closest galaxy to our Milky Way, only about 2.5 million light years away. That's made it tough for astronomers to construct a full picture of Andromeda, because to see it, telescopes need to cover a relatively large swath of the sky. Now, NASA's Hubble telescope has completed the widest look yet. In a study published last week in the Astrophysical Journal,

researchers added about 100 million stars in the southern half of Andromeda. It took the telescope over a decade, about 1,000 revolutions around Earth, to collect all of the photos. The analysis will help researchers reconstruct Andromeda's history, which scientists suspect involved collisions with smaller galaxies. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. Much of the nation is experiencing dangerously cold temperatures, a winter storm now threatening

to blanket areas from Texas through the Gulf states into the southeast. Many cities in Texas, including Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, could get up to five inches of snow. I'm Dan Ronan in Washington. This is NPR News. Support for NPR News. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Fresh air? Up first is NPR News.