NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-24-2025 8PM EST

Episode Date: January 25, 2025

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Usher, Yo-Yo Ma, Boy Genius, Shaka Khan, Billie Eilish, Weird Al, one thing all these big stars have in common, they've all played behind NPR's Tiny Desk. And if you enter NPR's Tiny Desk Contest between now and February 10th, you could be next. Unsigned musicians can find out more and see the official rules at npr.org slash tiny desk contest. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. With the Senate still moving towards a vote tonight on President Donald Trump's controversial nominee

for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, there appear to be mounting concerns among sub-Republicans as to whether the votes are there. Two GOP lawmakers, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have said they are no votes. As he was leaving the White House for trips to North Carolina and California today, Trump speculated as to whether another Republican, Mitch McConnell, could break ranks as well. Pete's a very, very good man. I hope he makes it. I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that.

And of course Mitch is always a no vote, I guess. Is Mitch a no vote? How about Mitch? You what? Let's see what happens. The excess nomination was moved forward in a procedural vote this week, but by a slim 51 to 49 margin, meaning any additional Republican no votes could sink the nomination.

Faith, community and elected leaders in El Paso, Texas are speaking out about the Trump administration's new immigration policies. Member station KTEP Angela Cachirga has more. The change in policy allows immigration enforcement officers to enter churches and schools to arrest people living in the U.S. without legal status. Those places were protected under a long-standing policy dating back to 2011. On the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz vowed to continue the church's mission amid growing fears some residents could face deportation.

We will work to protect our families, to witness to human dignity, to defend our religious liberty, to oppose the shutting down of our borders and our hearts. El Paso's county attorney says her office is ready to take legal action to support organizations fighting to protect residents' civil and constitutional rights. For NPR News, I'm Angela Kuchargan, El Paso. The Trump administration is trying to contain criticism from White House adviser Elon Musk of a $500 billion AI infrastructure plan. As NPR's Bobby Allen explains, Musk has been attacking the project known as Stargate.

They don't actually have the money. That's what Elon Musk wrote on his social platform X about a White House partnership between chat GPT maker OpenAI, software company Oracle and Japanese tech investor SoftBank. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shot back saying Musk was wrong quote, as you surely know, White House officials are trying to deescalate the feud over the AI mega deal. But things between Musk and Altman have been tense for years. Musk who runs his own AI company was an early investor in OpenAI and has claimed in a lawsuit that the firm deceived Musk into believing it would stay a nonprofit research lab. And another post-Altman told Musk, what is great for the country isn't always optimal for your companies. Bobby Allen, NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow fell 140 points today. You're listening to NPR. Millions of people in Ireland and parts of the UK are taking authorities' warnings seriously and remaining at home. As a result of hurricane-force winds that have been bringing down power lines and causing massive travel disruptions, forecasters issued a rare red weather warning, meaning a potential danger to life across Ireland and parts of central and southwest Scotland. In Ireland, there were reported wind gusts of more than 100 miles an hour. After a 15-month absence, giant pandas are back on public display at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Justin O'Neill from member station WAMU has more on preparations for their public debut today.

On Thursday morning, crews were preparing to welcome thousands of visitors, hoping to catch a glimpse of the zoo's newest stars, Bao Li and Ching Bao. Panda curator Michael Brown-Palsgrove says that if either panda shows any interest in the throngs who show up, it will more likely be the male, Bao Li. Bao Li is very gregarious and outgoing. Ching Bao is a little bit more reserved and independent. The pandas arrived in Washington in October. And Brown Palsgrove says that a lot of work has gone into making sure that the

pandas feel safe and confident in their new enclosures. He says that the public unveiling of the pandas, which happened this morning at 8 AM was months in the making. For NPR News, I'm Justin O'Neill in Washington. Big Box retailer Target, the latest major U.S. company, who announced plans to cut back its corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, Target following rival Walmart and some other major firms in scaling back on DEI initiatives. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.

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