NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-21-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: January 21, 2025

NPR News: 01-21-2025 5AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy...

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Usher, Yo-Yo Ma, Boy Genius, Shaka Khan, Billie Eilish, Weird Al, one thing all these big stars have in common, they've all played behind NPR's Tiny Desk. And if you enter NPR's Tiny Desk Contest between now and February 10th, you could be next. Unsigned musicians can find out more and see the official rules at npr.org slash tiny desk contest. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. On his first night back in power, President Trump signed a flurry of executive actions,
Starting point is 00:00:33 including a pardon for some 1,500 people charged with crimes during the January 6th attack at the U.S. Capitol four years ago. So this is January 6th. These are the hostages, approximately 1,500 for a pardon. Trump speaking in the Oval Office referring to the rioters as hostages, he claims they were unfairly treated by the Justice Department. The pardons have already led to some releases. Supporters gathered
Starting point is 00:01:00 late last night outside the Washington DC jail where more than a dozen defendants were being held. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer used a line from Trump's inauguration speech saying that Trump is ushering in a golden age for people that break the law and attempt to overthrow the government. The slew of executive actions Trump has taken since he took his oath of office less than 24 hours ago include withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization and from the Paris Climate Accord. He's also declared a national energy emergency. Ampere's Ozmucalli reports it's part of a broader vision aimed at boosting natural
Starting point is 00:01:35 resource production in the United States. Trump aims to cut red tape and regulations in the energy industry and enable the United States to produce more coal. The official said energy prices are currently too high but declined to name a target price. In recent years, US oil and gas production has hit record levels. Trump also plans to end what he refers to as Biden's electric vehicle mandate and end efforts to limit consumer choices on items like gas stoves and dishwashers. and efforts to limit consumer choices on items like gas stoves and dishwashers. Asma Khalid, NPR News. Some 20,000 people packed Washington's Capital One arena to hear President Trump speak in
Starting point is 00:02:12 person following his indoor inauguration yesterday. Many who went cited what they described as a favorite Trump policy, immigration. Here's NPR's Frank Langford. Joanne Floyd traveled from Mississippi and spent five hours in the cold trying to get into the arena on Sunday, only to be turned back. This time, she got in. The biggest thing that I love about Donald Trump is those borders and it's sickening, very sickening to see under Biden's administration all of these illegal immigrants coming into
Starting point is 00:02:43 the country. Trump is declaring a national emergency at the southern border and is pledging to deport immigrants who've been convicted of crimes. As COVID-19 era restrictions eased, illegal border crossings rose sharply under President Biden but are now at their lowest level in recent years. Frank Langford, NPR News, Washington. A new wildfire has broken out in southern California. The Lilac fire is burning north of San Diego.
Starting point is 00:03:07 It's only scorched three acres, but authorities aren't taking any chances. They've offered, they've already ordered rather, some evacuations. Dangerous fire conditions persist in the California region. There could be wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour today. This is NPR News. The Taliban government in Afghanistan says it has released two Americans in a prisoner exchange. The foreign ministry in Kabul did not name the two, but said they have been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who has been serving a life sentence in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges. The family of Ryan Corbett issued a statement confirming
Starting point is 00:03:44 him as one of the Americans and thanking both President Trump and former President Joe Biden. Ohio State has won the college football national championship. The Buckeyes beat the Notre Dame fighting Irish 34 to 23 to win the ninth title in the school's history. And here's Becky Sullivan has more on how last night's game shook out. The Buckeyes were the favorites coming into Atlanta. Their offense was stellar all season, especially their passing game. That set up a classic offense-first defense matchup, as Notre Dame had one of the country's best defenses, especially on third and fourth downs.
Starting point is 00:04:18 And no team in college football scored more points off of turnovers. Ohio State seemed to have the game in hand in the third quarter when they went up 31 to 7. But the Fighting Irish wouldn't let the door close. They scored one touchdown, then another, and trailed by only eight points with four minutes left to play. But the Buckeyes sealed their victory with a key first down, a pass to who else but their star freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. It's Ohio State's first national championship since 2014. Becky Sullivan, NPR News. There has been an upset at the first Grand Slam Tennis Tournament of the year. American
Starting point is 00:04:51 Coco Golf has been knocked out of the Australian Open after losing a quarterfinal match to Spain's Paula Badosa. Badosa now heading to her first Grand Slam semi-final. I'm Giles Snyder, NPR News. Elan Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have outlined their plans to slash the federal workforce with the help of a team of, quote, small government crusaders. What's in store for federal workers and how are they planning for change? This January 1A's.gov series guides you through various government agencies and the people working for you. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.