NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-22-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

NPR News: 01-22-2025 7AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Matt Wilson spent years doing rounds at children's hospitals in New York City. I had a clip-on tie. I wore Heelys, size 11. Matt was a medical clown. The whole of a medical clown is to reintroduce the sense of play and joy and hope and light into a space that doesn't normally inhabit. Ideas about navigating uncertainty. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, on Korva Coleman, there's no word yet of any major federal immigration raids that are expected to target cities that say they will protect

migrants living illegally in the U.S. But NPR's Ximena Bastillo says the Trump administration has laid groundwork for these arrests in places that were previously prohibited. Old rules said that schools, as well as places of worship, health care facilities, and a list of other areas were off limits for arrests of people suspected of being without legal status. Now, acting Secretary of Homeland Security has rescinded those guidelines, which the Trump administration says limit law enforcement from doing its job.

And Piers Jimenez-Bastillo reporting. Separately, several states are suing the Trump administration. This is over Trump's executive action trying to overturn birthright citizenship. It's enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. President Trump's nominee to be defense secretary is facing more allegations of misconduct. In a sworn statement to the Senate, the former sister-in-law of Pete Hegseth accuses him of being abusive to his second wife. NPR's Luke Garrett reports.

Daniel Hegseth, the former wife of Hegseth's brother, says the defense secretary nominee quote has an alcohol problem and was abusive to his ex-wife. In her affidavit, reviewed by NPR News, she says at times Hegseth's second wife hid in a closet from him out of fear. Daniel Hegseth submitted the affidavit in response to a request from Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. The ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee called the affidavit, quote, disturbing and potentially disqualifying.

On Monday, the committee endorsed Pete Hegseth's nomination along party lines, paving the way for a vote in the full Senate. A lawyer for Hegseth's nomination along party lines, paving the way for a vote in the full Senate. A lawyer for Hegseth dismissed these allegations to NBC News. NPR has requested comment from Hegseth. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. Fire crews continue to battle wildfires in the Los Angeles region. These have killed at least 28 people this month and destroyed more than 15,000 structures. President Trump plans to travel to Los Angeles on Friday to view the fire damage for himself.

NPR's Tamara Keith reports the president is talking about linking disaster relief funds to other legislation that he wants passed. Trump met with Republican congressional leaders to discuss extending and expanding tax cuts and surging resources to immigration enforcement. Asked about how Republicans would get that done, Trump brought up the wildfires in Los Angeles. It's been in some ways made simpler by Los Angeles because they're going to need a lot

of money. And generally speaking, I think you find that a lot of Democrats are going to be asking for help. So I think maybe that makes it more one-sided. I think we're going to do very well. Look, we're going to take care of Los Angeles. I'm going there. Trump plans to stop first in North Carolina, where hurricane

recovery efforts are still underway. Tamara Keith, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A winter storm continues to pound the southeast. There are winter storm warnings up from northern Florida to southern Virginia. These warmer climes are getting several inches of snow. Yesterday New Orleans was stunned by at least eight inches of snow and at one point blizzard warnings were up for coastal Louisiana.

The Food and Drug Administration has expanded its approval of the antidepressant nasal spray Spravato. NPR's John Hamilton reports that the drug is now cleared for use as a standalone treatment for depression. Spravato is made from esketamine, one of two mirror image molecules found in the anesthetic ketamine. It was approved in 2019 for use in adults with major depressive disorder who did not respond to at least two other antidepressants.

The original approval required that patients on Spravato also receive an oral antidepressant. Now the FDA says the drug can be used on its own. The decision came after a large study found that Spravato alone worked better than a placebo. In the first nine months of 2024, the drug generated sales of about $780 million for its maker, Johnson & Johnson. John Hamilton, NPR News. Britain's Prince Harry and a senior British lawmaker have reached a settlement against tabloid newspapers owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch. They had accused the papers of hacking their phones and invading their privacy.

The settlement of the lawsuit ends the chance of a trial in London. That was expected to reveal evidence that might have been damaging to Murdoch and to some tabloid executives. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News from Washington.