NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-22-2025 1AM EST

Episode Date: January 22, 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 issued pardons for nearly everyone charged in connection with the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, undoing a complex Justice Department probe in a moment. NPR's Kerry Johnson reports that's more than 1,500 people.

Fourteen are linked to the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, extremist groups who prosecutors said planned parts of the attack. The vast majority of people want full and complete pardons, meaning not only are they released from prison, but they get certain rights back, like voting or owning a firearm. Trump commuted or shortened the sentences of 14 other people,

including Stuart Rhodes. He's the founder of the far-right Oath Keepers Group. Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison. The judge said he was an ongoing threat to this country and the very fabric of our democracy. Stuart Rhodes was released early this morning. He's been spotted outside the D.C. jail this afternoon, waiting for the release of other defendants. Police officers who were injured in the attack are condemning Trump's action, calling it a betrayal. President Trump invited three executives to the White House to announce a new venture

known as Stargate. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, it's a large investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The CEOs of SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle said 10 massive data centers that will be used to run AI technology are already under construction in Texas, and more could be possible. They praised Trump, and he in turn praised the multi-billion dollar investment. This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential under a new president. Let me be a new president.

I didn't say it, they did. Trump has a history of inviting executives to make splashy announcements like this one at the White House, though they haven't always lived up to the hype. Tamara Keith, NPR News, The White House. The deep south is experiencing bitter cold and a rare wave of snow and ice. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports 30 million people across the region are under a winter storm warning. Forecasters say this is a once in a generation storm that's dumped more than 10 inches of

snow in parts of the Gulf Coast. Meteorologist Stacey Denson is with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana. But it is just really just crazy, I guess is the best way to describe seeing this amount of snow. I'm actually from the area. So grew up down here and this is just nothing like I've ever experienced. She says whiteout conditions early in the day prompted forecasters to issue an unprecedented blizzard warning.

Parts of I-10 are closed and thousands of flights have been canceled. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Orange Beach, Alabama. Many school districts across the deep south will be closed because of the snow. This is NPR News. The federal government's Office of Management and Budget is directing all government agencies to put staff members who work on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on paid leave, and it plans to shut all of these programs down. The Trump administration's press secretary, Carolyn Levitt, confirmed the move on a social media platform, Toast on X.

In one of his first acts as president, Donald Trump signed an executive order ending DEI programs. There are three new names on the baseball Hall of Fame tonight. One of them got nearly a unanimous vote. Ichiro Suzuki, the former Seattle Mariners great. NPR's Becky Sullivan has more. Ichiro Suzuki played for nearly 20 years in the major leagues, all of them after becoming a star in his home nation of Japan.

He came to Seattle in 2001 and went on to be an All-Star 10 times before he retired in front of an emotional crowd in Tokyo in 2019. He's the first Japanese-born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Of the hundreds of ballots that were cast, Suzuki was selected on 99.7% of them. In other words, only one voter declined to include him. Also selected was pitcher C.C. Sabathia, who won a Cy Young Award with Cleveland in 2007 and a World Series ring with the Yankees in 2009.

And after nine years of not getting enough votes to make the hall, the dominant closing pitcher Billy Wagner is finally in. Becky Sullivan, NPR News. On Wall Street, all three of these stock market indexes posted gains. The Dow was up 537 points. The NASDAQ added 126 points and the S&P added 52. From Washington, this is NPR News. 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.