NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-25-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: January 25, 2025

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What's in store for the music, TV, and film industries for 2025? We don't know, but we're making some fun, bold predictions for the new year. Listen now to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. President Trump's in-battle nominee for the defense secretary's position, Pete Hegseth, has been approved by the Senate by the narrowest of margins. A tiebreaker from the vice president, JD Vance, was needed to get the needed 51 votes. Hegseth has been dogged by doubts about his qualifications. NPR's Tom Bowman has

more. Three Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, voted against him, citing his alleged misconduct and his lack of experience. Hegseth is an Army National Guard combat veteran and former Fox News host, but he calls himself someone with dust on his boots, who will be a change agent at the Pentagon, a place he claims has focused on woke politics and diversity at the expense of warfighting. Hegseth has changed his long-held stance against women in ground combat, saying women can serve in those roles as long as they meet the standards. But he says the fitness requirements are lower for women and has vowed a review.

Tom Bowman, NPR News. President Donald Trump has seen firsthand the destruction from the recent wildfires in Southern California. Steve Futterman reports. The president saw the damage from the air and on the ground. He met with some who lost their homes. I don't think you can realize how rough it is, how devastating it is until you see it.

Afterwards, Trump told state and local officials the federal government is standing behind them 100%. Hours earlier in North Carolina, Trump seemed to set conditions on federal aid being given to California, but he did not repeat that sentiment during his visit to the LA area. Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu came away hopeful.

He said, California will get what it needs. Trump said he does not want long delays in rebuilding, promising to waive federal permits. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Pacific Palisades, California. The Trump administration is giving immigration authorities new and broad powers to quickly expel migrants who were temporarily admitted to the country by the Biden administration. More than a million migrants were admitted to the U.S.

under the two Biden-era programs. NPR's Joel Rose explains. Was signed last night by acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamin Huffman, and it appears to give immigration authorities permission to begin removing migrants who were admitted to the country under two Biden-era programs. That is the CBP One app, which allowed migrants to schedule appointments at ports of entry to begin their asylum claims. And the other

is a separate program for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. It is not immediately clear what would happen to the more than 1.4 million people who have already been admitted to the U.S. under these two programs. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones, the NASDAQ, and S&P were down. This is NPR News. A pair of giant pandas from China

made their long-awaited public debut at Washington, D.C.'s National Zoo Friday. NPR's Rachel Triesman has more. 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. During a Friday trip to the two recent disaster sites, President Trump said he is considering quote getting rid of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which he says is doing a poor job of providing assistance to the people and the businesses that have suffered natural disasters. Instead, he says FEMA should have the money possibly be distributed on the ground by state governments that could fuel the money to those people in need. The State Department has ordered a wide ranging 90anging 90-day freeze on new foreign aid,

making exceptions only for military aid for allies Egypt and Israel and emergency food programs. The order from the Secretary of State Marco Rubio stops billions of dollars that had been designated for U.S.-funded programs supporting education, economic development, job training, anti-corruption, security assistance and others. From Washington, you're listening to NPR News. I'm Dan Ronan.