NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-22-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. On Monday, President Trump gave full, complete, and unconditional pardons to all of the people charged in connection with the deadly January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. As NPR's Tom Driesbach reports, one of the men Trump freed has already been re-arrested on gun charges. Tom Driesbach, NPR News, News 8 During the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Daniel Ball allegedly threw an explosive device, which ricocheted off a police officer's helmet,

and exploded, causing multiple injuries. Later, he allegedly threw a piece of wood at police officers protecting the Capitol. His case was pending when Trump ordered Ball freed as part of his blanket clemency for January 6th defendants. But then Ball was re-arrested on unrelated charges. Federal prosecutors in Florida say he illegally possessed a gun even though he had a criminal record for multiple felonies, including domestic violence battery by strangulation and resisting

law enforcement by violence. Tom Dreisbach, NPR News. And those pardons have police organizations criticizing President Trump, saying they set a dangerous precedent. That includes the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Fraternal Order of Police, which is the biggest police union in the U.S. Meanwhile, House Democrats are scheduled to hold a meeting this hour with former Capitol Police officers over Trump's pardons. As of right now, the White House Office of Personnel Management has put all federal government this hour with former Capitol police officers over Trump's pardons.

As of right now, the White House Office of Personnel Management has put all federal government employees who work in diversity, equity, and inclusion on administrative leave as President Trump moves to get rid of DEI initiatives in the federal government. The OPM directed all DEI offices to be shut down. Pennsylvania Congressman Chris D'Aluzio called out House Republicans for focusing more on canceling DEI programs and increasing corporate profits over the needs of Americans. We're in the third week of the Republican majority in the House and the Senate, this Congress. They've done nothing to bring...

You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Trump administration is telling the heads of the federal health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration to halt all communications with the public. This freeze is in effect through February 1st, and it does include all agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services. And all communications, including social media, now need to be approved by a presidential appointee. There were similar pauses in the first Trump administration.

A school shooting in Nashville has left two students dead, including the gunman. Police say a 17-year-old male student armed with a pistol opened fire at the Antioch High School cafeteria today, shooting two girls and then himself. One of the girls was killed, the other grazed. So far, there's no word on a motive. The school had two resource officers, but they were not in the cafeteria when the shooting happened. Wall Street higher by the closing bell.

You're listening to NPR News. A new government takes office today in Ireland after elections there late last year. MPs Lauren Frayer has more. Veteran politician Mahal Martin is the new Irish Taoiseach, or Prime Minister. His centre-right, Fianna Fáil party won the most votes in November's election. He takes over from Simon Harris, who will become Foreign Minister, and then after three years the two will swap as per terms of their coalition deal.

This new Irish government is bracing for possible turmoil. Ireland has Europe's biggest trade surplus with the US, and its economy could be hurt by any tariffs imposed by President Trump. Ireland is also drafting a bill with cross-party support that would ban trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which could invite backlash or retaliation from the U.S. and Israel. Lauren Fraher and PR News. Just as a trial was set to start in the UK, Prince Harry has agreed to a settlement with Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloids that includes a quote full apology from the sun for unlawful information gathering and also phone hacking.

This settlement avoids what could have been a weeks long trial and holds the newspapers accountable for invasions of privacy. This amount of the settlement though hasn't been released. Wall Street higher by the closing bell. The Dow up 130 points. The Nasdaq up 252. The S&P 500 up 37 points. I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.