NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-24-2025 3AM EST

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

NPR News: 01-24-2025 3AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Roman. Evacuation orders have been lifted for tens of thousands of people in Southern California. Firefighters on the ground and crews are using airplanes dropping water. They're making progress against the latest wildfire in the mountains north of Los Angeles. Officials said the fire, known as the Use Fire, didn't expand much on Thursday and the aerial water drops are helping. Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed legislation that will spend $2.5 billion

in state money to assist the Los Angeles area. I'm honored, thank you, to sign these two bills, appropriating and a half billion dollars effective immediately out of the communities impacted by these wildfires. The forecast for Friday calls for gusty winds but relief could be coming over the weekend with the likelihood of rain. President Trump is traveling Friday to North Carolina where residents are continuing to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Blue Ridge Public Radio's Felicia Chalmes has more. This will be Trump's first visit to the state since the start of his second term.

Helene caused catastrophic damage when it swept through western North Carolina in September. The storm brought historic flooding, wind, and landslides, killing 104 people, and damaging or destroying an estimated 126,000 homes. Nearly four months after the storm, thousands of residents remain without a permanent place to live. A bipartisan funding bill signed into law last month by then-President Biden allocated billions of dollars to disaster relief.

But the aid will take months to arrive, and local officials say more help is needed. For NPR News, I'm Felicia Sodmez in Asheville. President Trump will also visit the fire damaged California on Friday. Purdue Farmer and the Sackler family have agreed to pay out 7.4 billion dollars for their role in fueling the opioid epidemic. Carolyn Lewis with station WNYC in New York has details. If and when the deal is finalized, it will be the largest settlement to date over a company's role in the opioid crisis. The money would go to cities and states across the country

to fund addiction services. But the thousands of claimants involved also have the option to opt out. New York Attorney General Letitia James celebrated the agreement, which caps years of litigation. It represents justice for untold victims who suffered because the Sacklers basically put profits over people. Under the terms of the settlement, the Sackler family would no longer control the company, and the Sacklers would no longer be shielded from future lawsuits. For NPR News, I'm Caroline Lewis.

Former Texas Congressman John Radcliffe has now been sworn in to his new position. He'll be the new CIA director. This is NPR News. Less than 10 months after the container ship, the Dolly, struck and brought down Baltimore's Key Bridge, killing six 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 recertification. Last March, the 984-foot dolly lost power and crashed into the bridge, sending the nearly 50-year-old structure into the Patapsco River. The NTSB is continuing its investigation of the incident. A final report is still several months away. The operator of a now shuttered wood treatment plant in Eugene, Oregon has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of violating federal law. Brian Bull of Member Station KLCC reports. For nearly 80 years before closing in 2022, J.H. Baxter operated this plant amidst complaints of foul odors. Now Baxter and company president Georgia Baxter Krause have admitted to violations of the Clean Air Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and lying to regulators about

the duration and frequency of toxic releases. The news is being welcomed by locals, including Eric Dion, who survived pediatric cancer. I was just across the street from there on Baxter Street. Up and down that bike path all the time. It's not a clean ditch, but I did it anyways and I regret that I did. Baxter Krause will be sentenced on April 22nd which is Earth Day. For NPR News I'm Brian Bull in Eugene, Oregon. On Wall Street all three major indexes were up. This is NPR News. Support for NPR.