NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-24-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: January 24, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. On a visit to North Carolina today, President Trump said he plans to overhaul or possibly get rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the government office that handles disaster response. Remember, station Blue Ridge Public Radio Felicia Sonmez has more. Trump spoke at a storm recovery briefing near Asheville, one of several cities that were devastated by Hurricane Helene in September, and where many residents remain without permanent housing.

Trump escalated his criticism of FEMA and said he would like to see states, rather than the federal government, spearhead disaster response. FEMA has been a very big disappointment. They cost a tremendous amount of money. It's very bureaucratic and it's very slow. Other than that, we're very happy with them. Trump also said he plans to sign an executive order to speed up the process of repairing the many roads and bridges that were damaged by the storm.

For NPR News, I'm Felicia Sanmez in Asheville. The Trump administration is giving immigration authorities the power to quickly expel migrants who were temporarily admitted to the country by the Biden administration. About 1.4 million migrants were admitted to the U.S. under two Biden-era programs, despite objections from critics who said the programs were illegal. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamin Huffman has signed a memo that would give immigration authorities permission to begin removing people admitted under the CBP-1 app, which allowed migrants to schedule appointments at ports to begin their asylum claims, and also under a separate program

that granted humanitarian parole to certain people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Vice President J.D. Vance made his first public address in his new role today, joining anti-abortion demonstrators in Washington for their annual March for Life. Vance's appearance comes the day after the president pardoned anti-abortion activists who'd been charged for blocking access to a clinic, Morph-Mempur's Deepa Shivaram. Vance told the crowd that the government and society had failed by making abortion more accessible and by not doing enough to help young parents. He said he simply wants more babies in the United States,

and the government should make that easier. And it is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids, to bring them into the world, and to welcome them as the blessings that we know they are here at the March for Life. President Trump hasn't taken any direct action on abortion in his first week, but many anti-abortion

activists are hoping that with a friendly Congress and Supreme Court, Trump will take up the issue. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News, Washington. The National Association of Realtors, the industry's main trade group, says existing home sales in 2024 told just over 4 million units that was a seven-tenths of a percent decline from the prior year. High mortgage interest rates coupled with a shortage of homes on the market to high home prices get many consumers on the sidelines.

On Wall Street, the Dow is down 140 points today. You're listening to NPR. The annual gathering of global elites, which includes business leaders, academics, and some top government officials, hosted by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, has come to a close. While some of those attending the event were upbeat about economic prospects, efforts to wind down ongoing wars, and to promote technology, others were less optimistic. Some expressed concerns about the victims of ongoing conflicts and the plight of migrants. A pair of giant pandas from China made their long-awaited public debut at Washington, D.C.'s National Zoo today.

Bao Li and Ching Bao are on loan from China for the next decade, and Bear's racial treasement reports. For nearly a century, China has sent bears to zoos around the world in a practice known as Panda Diplomacy. The U.S. welcomed its first pandas to the National Zoo in 1972, and has housed several others on long-term loans in the decades since. DC was without pandas for almost a year, until Bao Li and Ching Bao arrived in October 2024, after months of preparation, their exhibit, and the popular online panda cam are now on full display. Rachel Triesman, NPR News. Some of the most stunning images of our planet to date have been captured by a private U.S. spacecraft

orbiting the Earth that's headed for the moon, expected to arrive there in a little over a month. The Firefly aerospace lunar lander, the Blue Ghost, took the pictures a week into its flight. Spacecraft is just carrying experiments for NASA as part of the space agency's efforts The Firefly aerospace lunar lander, the Blue Ghost, took the pictures a week into its flight. The spacecraft is carrying experiments for NASA as part of the space agency's efforts to turn astronauts to the moon this decade. It's one of two landers that were launched from Florida last week.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.