NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-23-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Roman. Pete Hegseth's nomination to lead the Department of Defense cleared a procedural vote today. NPR's Deidre Walsh reports there was some Republican opposition but not enough expected to derail him. Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski announced she could not support Hegseth, citing his lack of experience, and reports about excessive drinking and other inappropriate behavior that raise questions about his character. A second GOP senator, Susan Collins of Maine, also plans to vote no. She raised doubt about him leading the large department and his previous comments about women serving in group combat roles. Hegseth backtracked on

those, but Collins says she's not convinced his position has changed. Hegseth is not expected to get any support from Democrats, but he can afford to lose as many as three GOP votes. The final Senate vote is expected sometime on Friday, and Hegseth appears likely to be confirmed as secretary of defense, mostly along party lines. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News, The Capitol. President Trump's nominee to lead the VA easily passed his Senate committee today. Also, NPR's Quill Lawrence reports the vast majority of the VA staff have been exempted from a federal hiring freeze.

Doug Collins, an Air Force Reserve colonel and former Georgia congressman, was endorsed by the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee 18-1, almost guaranteeing he'll be the next Secretary of Veterans Affairs. During his confirmation hearing this week, he was pressed on whether President Trump's federal hiring freeze would apply to VA. He said he needed to study it. In the meantime, doctors and nurses nationwide who thought they had VA job offers got the news their offers were rescinded. After two days of mixed messages, the administration has now exempted the majority of health care

positions at VA from the hiring freeze. Senate Democrats have urged Trump to protect all VA staff positions from the freeze. Quill Lawrence, NPR News. President Trump wants Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices, which he says could bring an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. His remarks were delivered by video to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. NPR's Depara Srebran has more. After listing what he sees as accomplishments in his first week of office, Trump addressed

the Economic Forum in Switzerland with a focus on tariffs, saying that if products aren't made in America, there will be tariffs added to them. He also said he would call on Saudi Arabia to bring down the cost of oil and that doing so would, quote, immediately end the Russia-Ukraine war. Russia, which exports a lot of oil, has been relying on the high cost of it to sustain the war. Right now, the price is high enough that that war will continue. You got to bring down the oil price.

You got to end that war. Trump also said China's Xi Jinping could help pressure Russia's Putin to end the conflict. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News, The White House. On Wall Street, all three major stock indexes closed the day up on Thursday. From Washington, this is NPR News. Atlanta-based cable news giant CNN is cutting 200 jobs in what leadership says is a pivot to digital operations. Melissa Fatow of member station WABE reports.

CEO Mark Thompson says the move isn't to cut costs but to make a turn further into digital operations. With most of the layoffs concentrated in the TV division, the network looks to keep a leaner staff and transfer some of its technical operations to Atlanta. Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is investing $70 million into CNN's digital ventures. And Thompson says many of the lost jobs will eventually be replaced by new hires to support the growth in digital.

Last fall, the network's website launched an online subscription plan for frequent readers priced at $3.99 a month. CNN is also reconfiguring some of its popular programming, including moving the Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer to mornings and adding co-anchor Pamela Brown. For NPR News, I'm Melissa Fatow in Atlanta. Less than 10 months after the container ship The Dolly struck and brought down Baltimore's Key Bridge, killing six workers, the ship has been repaired and is now back in business. After tons of debris was removed from the deck of the ship, workers did temporary repairs

at a shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, and then it was taken to China for more extensive work, sea trials, validation, and now re-certification. Last March, the 984-foot ship lost power and crashed into the bridge, sending the nearly 50-year-old structure into the Patapsco River. The NTSB continues its investigation of the incident. A final report, though, is still months away. From Washington, this is NPR News.