NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-22-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Justice Department is directing federal prosecutors to investigate and potentially prosecute state and local officials who do not cooperate with immigration authorities. NPR's Joel Rose reports a memo issued this week realigns the department's positions with President Trump's executive actions. The three-page memo was sent to the entire DOJ workforce by Acting Deputy Attorney General Amal Bovi. It signals a sharp break with the immigration policies of the Biden administration.

The memo says prosecutors should return to the principle of charging defendants with the most serious crime they can prove, removing the discretion to charge a lower-level offense. Bovi also calls on U.S. attorneys to prosecute state or local officials who obstruct, quote, lawful immigration-related commands or requests, unquote. Boevi also calls on U.S. attorneys to prosecute state or local officials who obstruct, quote, lawful immigration-related commands or requests, unquote.

That sets the stage for a fresh round of legal action against so-called sanctuary cities and states that limit their cooperation with immigration authorities. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. NPR has obtained a memo about a temporary hold on all public communications from the Department of Health and Human Services until a presidential appointee vets the information. According to the memo, the acting HHS secretary told all operating divisions, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration to pause all documents and communications with the public

through February 1st. Police in Nashville are investigating a shooting at Adiyak High School today. Authorities say one student was killed, another was injured, and the alleged gunman also a student shot and killed himself. The remnants of the winter storm in the Deep South are still on the ground after dropping up to nine inches of snow in places it may only see snow once a decade. And as Grant Blankenship of Georgia Public Broadcasting reports, effects are expected to linger into tomorrow.

Snow lasting well into Tuesday night meant by Wednesday morning, interstates 75 and 475 were closed in central Georgia. Some drivers were left stuck on the side of the road. But there was fun to be had in Macon's in-town neighborhood for those on foot. One, two. Like Kyle Davis and his son Ward. It was Ward's first snow ever and Kyle says it's not like he sees snow much either. I don't know if I've ever been in Macon when it's snowed. What? Okay we'll slide again. We'll slide again. Get your sign.

Roads in much of Georgia and the South are expected to be treacherous at least into Thursday. For NPR News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon, Georgia. Red flag warnings for critical fire danger remained in effect in Southern California through tomorrow, but after dry and windy weather fueled major wildfires in the LA area in recent weeks, the region's projected to get some badly needed rain this weekend. However, the rain also poses threats of landslides and toxic ash runoff. U.S. stocks have ended the day higher. From Washington, this is NPR News. In a test of Elon Musk's influence with the new Trump administration, the Tesla and SpaceX chief is questioning the value of the Stargate AI infrastructure investment.

President Trump openly praised yesterday. Trump expressed support for an up to $500 billion joint venture involving chat, GPT maker, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. Musk said on his media platform, X, that he has it on good authority that the group does not have the money. Musk has been in a long feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that started with a boardroom rivalry over who should run OpenAI, which both men help found. This week's Billboard charts are out.

Bad Bunny has a country's top album. NPR's Stephen Thompson has details. It's no surprise that Bad Bunny's De B Tirar Mas Fotos is this week's top album. It just came out and the Puerto Rican rapper and singer is one of the world's biggest pop stars. But when Bad Bunny topped the latest albums chart, he did it by the thinnest of margins.

The album just behind him at number two? It's Lover Live in Paris, a 2019 recording released entirely via Taylor Swift's website. Lover Live in Paris is no longer available for sale, and it's not on streaming services, so its run on the pop charts is destined to be a short one. But for now, it's the number two album in the country. Stephen Thompson, NPR News. The NASDAQ closed up 252 points or 1.2 percent. The S&P was up more than half a percent.

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