NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-23-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: January 23, 2025

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Jack Spear Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A federal judge in Seattle is temporarily blocking a Trump administration order curtailing what's known as birthright citizenship. NPR's Martin Costey says the judge called Trump's order blatantly unconstitutional. Martin Costey The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, but on Monday, President Trump signed an order withholding citizenship from children born to mothers who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas. Several

states immediately sued, and a federal judge has now ordered the administration to hold off changing the citizenship rules. Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown welcomed the move. We're back to the status quo. We're back to the rule that has been the law of this land now for generations, that you aren't American if you were born to the status quo. We're back to the rule that has been the law of this land now for generations, that you are an American if you were born in the United States. But this is just a two-week pause as the states and the Justice Department prepare for the next steps in lawsuits over birthright citizenship.

Martin Kosty, NPR News, Seattle. A ceasefire between Abbas and Israel is mostly holding in Gaza. The agreement has paused more than 15 months of war and intense Israeli airstrikes there. It appears Iber Trawi is more. The UN humanitarian relief agency known as OCHA says more food entered Gaza in the first three days of the ceasefire than the entire month of October. The surge in aid comes after people in Gaza struggled to find food throughout most of the war.

Thousands of children are suffering from acute malnutrition. The latest UN figures also show that 35,000 children are estimated to have had one or both parents killed in Gaza over the past year of war and a further 17,000 children are unaccompanied after being separated from their families due to hostilities. Additionally, the UN says at least 20 percent of people in Gaza now have permanent disabilities, with thousands of children having lost one or both legs in the bombardment. Ayah Boutraoui, Ampere News.

In a procedural vote, Senate lawmakers have advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be the nation's next defense secretary, despite major objections from Democrats and a few Republicans over his behavior, including allegations of excessive drinking and aggression towards women. Two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, were no votes. Airline stocks hit some turbulence today. NPR's Scott Horsley reports it follows a downbeat forecast from one of the nation's biggest carriers. Despite a strong showing at the end of last year, American Airlines says it expects to lose money in the current quarter. The company is struggling to win back business travelers who were turned off when American

trim, perks and discounts. The news weighed on other airline stocks, even though rival carriers have offered more upbeat forecasts. Costco is holding its annual meeting, and investors are expected to vote on a proposal from a conservative think tank. Challenging the retailer's diversity efforts. Costco's board is defending the DEI program and urging shareholders to reject the measure. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. Stocks gained ground on Wall Street today overall the Dow is up

408 points. You're listening to NPR. CNN has become the latest company to wield the job-cutting axe, the cable network announcing it plans to lay off 200 of its employees. In a memo to staff today, CNN CEO Mark Thompson outlined plans, including allowing digital subscribers to stream news to any device. More Americans have cut the cord and ditched cable. Many news networks, including CNN, have seen viewership tumble. Network says its digital transformation will create job openings in those areas.

College enrollment in the U.S. has finally rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. It fell drastically in the fall of 2020. If you want to listen to that, the ad warning reports, new data out today show a growing number of students are willing to make the investment. During the first two years of the pandemic, colleges and universities around the country lost more than one million students. But finally, this past fall, college enrollment in graduate and undergraduate programs has climbed out of the hole, in total up 4.5%. The new data comes from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Professor Talani Britton studies higher education at the University of California, Berkeley. The fact that students are both seeing the value in college and enrolling, I think, is really great news. It actually points to a recovery. Freshman enrollment grew more than 5 percent, mostly at community colleges. Alyson Adwani, NPR News. Environmentalists are expressing concerns as dead sea turtles continue to wash ashore on India's east coast. As many as 600 turtles have washed ashore, likely a result of overfishing there. Fishing crews blame warmer water and high operating costs. They say it forced them to fish in areas where the turtles are.

I'm Jack Spear, 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.