NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-24-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

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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, I'm Korova Coleman. Vice President Vance is scheduled to address the annual March for Life today in Washington,

D.C. As NPR's Sarah McCammon reports, this year's gathering of anti-abortion activists comes at a time when conservatives control the White House, Congress, and hold a majority in the Supreme Court. President Trump has bragged about his role in choosing Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, but since then he's offered mixed messages about whether he'd support new federal restrictions, as some activists are calling for. Trump's vice president, J.D. Vance, is set to address the march in person, his first

public appearance since the inauguration. Here's Vance at the Ohio March for Life in 2023. For the millions of babies as yet unborn in this country, we are going to fight for you every step of the way. There are many steps to take. I'll be right there walking with you. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are also scheduled to speak. Sarah McCammon, NPR News, Washington. The Trump administration says federal immigration officers have arrested

hundreds of people they say are criminals who are illegally in the U.S. The White House says hundreds of people have now been deported by military aircraft. One raid yesterday was in Newark, New Jersey. Newark's mayor, Ross Baraka, says federal agents detained American citizens in the raid. He says that includes a US military veteran. Mayor Baraka says people are being unlawfully terrorized. A federal judge in Washington state has temporarily blocked Trump's executive order

on birthright citizenship. The president is seeking to eliminate that right for some Americans. The federal judge says that is blatantly unconstitutional. Trump says that ruling will be challenged. Obviously we'll appeal it. They put it before a certain judge in Seattle, I guess, right? And there's no surprises with that judge.

Many states and cities are suing President Trump, saying the president does not have the right to overturn the US Constitution. Stocks opened mixed this morning as the National Association of Realtors reported a modest uptick in home sales last month. NPR Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones industrial average slipped about 150 points in early trading. Sales of existing homes rose just over 2% in December and the average selling price topped $404,000. Even with the modest increase, at the end of the year, 2024 saw the lowest level of home sales in nearly three decades.

Sales have been weighed down by a shortage of homes on the market and high interest rates. Freddie maxes the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage is now just under 7%, down slightly from a week ago. President Trump told business leaders in Davos yesterday he will, quote, demand lower interest rates. Bond markets have generally pushed rates higher since Trump's election, however, and the Federal Reserve is expected to hold rates steady when policymakers meet next week. Scott Horslake, NPR News, Washington.

You're listening to NPR News. Four Israeli female hostages are expected to be released this weekend in exchange for about 200 Palestinian prisoners. This is part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The names of the hostages, including some soldiers, are expected to be released soon. Crime rates continue to fall in many parts of the U.S. New data from a sample of 40 cities offer early insight into possible national trends, and Piers Megg Anderson has more. Researchers looked at more than a dozen offenses, including homicide, sexual

assault, robbery, motor vehicle theft, and burglaries. Shoplifting was the only one that increased in 2024 compared to the year before by around 14 percent. Ernesto Lopez, a senior research specialist at the Council on Criminal Justice, says shoplifting likely has increased, but preventing it has also become an intense focus of both police and retailers. So that really suggests that it's possible there's an increase in reporting and an increase in detection. The study found violent crime, on the other hand, fell dramatically. Most of those crime rates are now at or below their pre-pandemic levels.

Meg Anderson, NPR News. Aircraft maker Boeing says it lost a lot of money at the end of last year, more than $3.5 billion between October and December. Part of that is because of the long machinist strike against Boeing. And Boeing's Starliner program is troubled. Two astronauts who flew into space last year are still stuck there. This is NPR. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Fresh air? Up first. This is NPR.