NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-23-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: January 23, 2025

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Winzer Johnston, NPR News. The Republican-led Senate has voted to advance the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be the nation's next Secretary of Defense. NPR's Tom Bowman reports Hegseth is one of President Trump's most controversial cabinet picks. One of the concerns about Hegseth from the start was he has no real practical experience. He ran two small veterans groups. There were charges of financial mismanagement against him.

So a lot of times, actually, in all cases of defense secretaries, they've either come from industry, the military, or politics. And Pete Hegseth, again, really has no experience. So that was a concern all along. Two Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted against advancing the nomination. Hegseth has faced allegations of excessive drinking and sexual assault. He denies that he ever abused women. The Trump administration says it's rounding up more migrants accused of violent crimes. The move is part of a new effort to crack down on illegal immigration.

But NPR's Brian Mann reports the number of arrests appears only slightly higher than under the Biden administration. Trump officials say they've arrested roughly 400 migrants with criminal records. Speaking on Fox News, White House adviser Stephen Miller said initial immigration operations have already arrested and removed what he called some of the most vicious criminals in this country. But former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs John Sandwig told NPR enforcement actions carried out so far aren't a significant increase.

I think these operations, this initial surge is business as usual. NPR found migrant arrests varied over time during the Biden administration, but federal agents were already arresting more than 100 migrants per day with criminal convictions or charges pending before Trump took office. Brian Mann, NPR News, New York.

The European Union got more electricity from solar power than coal last year. NPR's Jeff Brady reports coal continues its long decline in the EU even as the industry in the US is hoping for a boost from the Trump administration. Nuclear remains the top source of electricity in the EU followed by wind, gas, and hydropower but a review of the European Union's electricity generating fuels by the think tank Ember found for the first time solar generated more power than coal. Europe launched its Green Deal five years ago, aiming to zero out climate pollution by 2050. The US has the same goal under the

Paris climate agreement, though President Trump is withdrawing from that as he did during his first term. Renewable energy has also grown rapidly in the U.S. The research firm Rhodium Group says last year solar and wind power together generated slightly more electricity than coal in the U.S. Jeff Brady, NPR News. On Wall Street, the Dow was up 408 points. This is NPR. Confirmation hearings will begin next week for President Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services NPR Selena Simmons Duffin reports Robert F. Kennedy jr. is expected to face a tough round of questioning from lawmakers there has been a big lobbying effort to block his

confirmation it's not clear if he does have the support in the Senate to be confirmed but particularly because of his positions in favor of abortion access and against vaccine requirements. That's NPR's Selena Simmons-Stefan reporting. A new study shows that adults who are diagnosed with ADHD live shorter lives than people without a diagnosis. NPR's Maria Godoy has more. The study looked at more than 30,000 adults diagnosed with ADHD in the UK.

The researchers used national data on mortality rates to estimate their life expectancy. They found that men diagnosed with ADHD were dying seven years younger on average compared to their counterparts without a diagnosis. Women with ADHD lived an average of nine years less. Prior research has found that factors including smoking, sleep, exercise, nutrition, and risky driving are key factors behind the shorter lifespans in adults with ADHD. The findings are in line with other research that finds untreated ADHD raises the risk of serious health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. Maria Godoy, NPR News.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 408 points, the Nasdaq Composite up 44, the S&P 500 up 32 points. I'm Windsor Johnston, NPR News in Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.