NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-24-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

NPR News: 01-24-2025 4AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Donald Trump is starting his second term as president. What will his administration do and what policies will it promote? On the NPR Politics Podcast, we'll break down what the new administration does and explain why it matters. Listen to the NPR Politics Podcast every day. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ruhman. President Trump is capping off his first week in office with trips to Asheville, North Carolina, and then to Los Angeles today.

NPR's Deva Shibaron reports this comes as Trump has been talking about withholding aid to California as the state fights catastrophic wildfires. First, Trump is headed to Asheville, which was ravaged by flooding when Hurricane Helene hit the state in September. Trump has accused Democrats of leaving the state behind. He repeatedly made a number of false statements about aid relief during the presidential election using the crisis to score political points. The president's next stop will be LA where wildfire recovery will be costly. Trump appears to regard this too as an opportunity for political leverage.

In an interview this week with Sean Hannity on Fox, Trump said Democrats wanted a lot of money for wildfire relief in California, but he wants the state to change its water policies before it gets any aid. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News, The White House. A confirmation vote is expected in the United States Senate Friday

on the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be the defense secretary. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, said they will oppose the nomination because of concerns they have over his qualifications. Among them, reports of domestic abuse of his former wife and allegations he's a heavy drinker. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is also against the nomination. I want my colleagues to think about how absurd it is that this nominee has even made it to the floor.

It's a shame that that has happened. We are being cast to trust our armed forces to a man with a history of erratic behavior. One of the kindest words that might be used to describe Mr. Hegseth is erratic. And that's a quality you don't want as head of DOD. Hegseth denies the charges and he says they're part of a smear campaign to keep him from the Pentagon. Americans who have applied for gender neutral passports may have to reapply.

The Trump administration has frozen all such applications. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. The State Department started issuing passports with male, female or X markings in 2022 and said at the time that applicants could self-select their gender. But this week President Trump issued an executive order banning that saying the federal government's policy is that there are only two sexes, male and female. According to The Guardian, Secretary of State Marco Rubio followed up, telling his staff to suspend any applications from Americans seeking to change their sex marker or requesting an X on their passport.

The order is not retroactive. Current gender-neutral passports remain valid, though Americans who have them may have difficulties when they renew. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. Stocks closed up on Thursday and you're listening to NPR. Tina Turner's record label has released a previously lost song by the late rock icon. NPR's Chloe Veltman reports Hot for You Baby isn't creating sparks among the critics but it's a welcome dose of nostalgia for Turner's fans.

Hot for You Baby was originally destined for Tina Turner's blockbuster 1984 album Private Dancer but it didn't make the cut. Hot for You Baby Hot for You Baby The song languished forgotten for roughly 40 years until Turner's record label rediscovered the master tape. Rolling Stone magazine contributing editor Anthony de Curtis says Hot for You Baby is a bit one dimensional, not nearly as nuanced as tracks like What's Love Got to do with it.

But you know, it's got energy and it's got power and it's got excitement. The critic says most importantly, it makes us feel like Tina Turner, who died in 2023, is still with us. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. Nearly two months after the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was shot and killed in New York, the Minnesota-based health care insurance company has a new CEO. He's Tim Noel, who is most recently the head of United Health Care, Medicare and Retirement. He's been with the company since 2007.

Thompson was leaving a Manhattan hotel December the 4th when he was gunned down in what police are calling a targeted killing. After several days on the run, 27-year-old Luigi Mangione was captured in Pennsylvania. He is currently being held without bond in a federal jail in Brooklyn awaiting trial. The new CEO oversaw the United Health Care Medicare plan. This is NPR News in Washington. Support for NPR.

It's a new year and according to Pew, 79% of resolutions are about one thing, health. But there are so many fads around how to keep ourselves healthy. On It's Been a Minute, I'm helping you understand why some of today's biggest wellness trends are, well, trending. Like why is there protein in everything? Join me as we uncover what's healthy and what's not on the It's Been a Minute podcast

from NPR.