NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-22-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: January 23, 2025

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Okay, so does this sound like you? You love NPR's podcasts, you wish you could get more of all your favorite shows, and you want to support NPR's mission to create a more informed public. If all that sounds appealing, then it is time to sign up for the NPR Plus bundle. Learn more at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. President Trump has directed the Pentagon to send an additional 1,500 troops to the southern U.S. border. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports.

A Pentagon statement announced that the ground personnel will support operations along the border with Mexico, as well as helicopters and intelligence analysts to support detection and monitoring efforts. The statement said military airlift may also be used for deportation flights of more than 5,000 people detained by Customs and Border Protection near San Diego, California and El Paso, Texas. Troops will also assist in the construction of barriers to stop illegal border crossings and smuggling, and the Pentagon said additional deployments are expected. Both President Biden and President Trump during his first term

sent active duty troops to the border. Quill Lawrence, NPR News. The House has voted to pass the Lakin-Ryliak sending the measure to President Trump for his signature. NPR's Jimena Bustilla reports. The measure would make it easier for federal immigration officials to detain and deport those without legal status who are charged with crimes ranging from minor burglary offenses

to more serious crimes involving bodily harm, death, or harm to law enforcement officers. The measure passed with the support of 46 Democrats. The vote marked a major shift for many in the party. Democrats broadly rejected the measure at various times last year, but the politics of the bill shifted after the election. Twelve Democrats supported the bill when it passed the Senate earlier this week. Trump could sign the bill as early as this week. Jimena Bustillo, NPR News, Washington. A rare winter storm has a grip on the deep south with temperatures continuing to fall. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports that

both the frigid temperatures and the snowfall amounts in the South, they are setting records. The ice and snow have snarled traffic, closed ports and schools and shut down air travel across the Gulf Coast. New Orleans is deploying Mardi Gras cleanup equipment to plow snow from the French Quarter. Several places in South Louisiana registered more than 10 inches of snow, including 13.4 inches in Grand Coteau and 10 inches in Brough Bridge. Gulf Shores, Alabama got nearly 9 inches, as did towns in the Florida Panhandle, breaking records that date to the late 1800s. Sub freezing temperatures are also in the record books. The National Weather Service says it was

warmer in Anchorage Alaska than it was in Atlanta, New Orleans and Jacksonville Florida. Debbie Elliott NPR News, Orange Beach, Alabama. On Wall Street markets marked Wednesday they closed with three of the indexes posting gains. The Dow Jones gained 131 points to close at 44,156. The Nasdaq added 252 closing at 20,009. The S&P also rallied up 37 points to close at 6,086. You're listening to NPR News. A fast moving wildfire north of Los Angeles is prompting evacuation orders for more than 50,000 people as flames spread across the mountains near a catastatic lake known as the Use Fire.

It began Wednesday morning and is quickly spread through more than 14 square miles of trees and brush, sending dark plumes of smoke into the area. The fire closed the busy Interstate 5 area in the Santa Clarita Valley for several hours, causing traffic jams. LA County officials say there are 4,000 firefighters that are now currently battling this fire. The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced its 2025 inductees, spanning a number of punk, funk, and bubblegum pop musicians. Sydney Mweden has more.

George Clinton, Ashley Gormley, Rodney Darkchild-Jerkens, Mike Love, Tony Macaulay, and three members of the Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald, Tom Johnston, and Patrick Simmons, have officially been added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This is the first class since 2017 to include no women on the list. Songwriters like Janet Jackson and Sheryl Crow were nominated but didn't make the cut this year.

The new honorees will be inducted on June 12th at a ceremony in New York City. Sydney Madden, NPR News. A record 47 percent of the European Union's electricity now comes from solar and wind power, according to a new report that came out on Wednesday. This is NPR News in Washington.