NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-26-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: January 26, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. President Trump says he is taking action after Colombia's president barred two U.S. repatriation flights from landing in that country. NPR's Elena Moore reports. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the Colombian leader's decision has, quote, jeopardized the national security and public safety of the United States. He laid out a handful of measures, including a 25 percent tariff on Colombian goods that would rise to 50 percent the following week. The move, Trump says, would also enact a travel ban and revoke visas for Colombian government

officials, as well as impose additional financial sanctions and ramp up inspections of Colombian citizens and cargo at the border. impose additional financial sanctions and ramp up inspections of Colombian citizens and cargo at the border. These measures, Trump says, are just the beginning. The Colombian government has put out another statement saying they would provide a presidential plane for migrants. Elena Moore, NPR News, Washington. Israel is blocking thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern

Gaza in a dispute over the order of hostages Hamas has released after a ceasefire agreement. Speaking on Air Force One, President Trump told reporters that Arab countries, including Jordan and Egypt, should take in the refugees and build housing for them while Gaza is restored. It's literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything's demolished and people are dying there. So I'd rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change.

NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports the president's suggestion has not been embraced by those most affected. This is not U.S. policy right now. He said this in the context of talking about how destroyed Gaza is and that Palestinians should be removed in order to rebuild it. And in answer to a question, he said that it could be a permanent move.

Much of the Israeli government has been pretty quiet about this idea this morning. Hamas, on the other hand, strongly rejected it, saying that the whole reason Palestinians endured this war was to stay on their land. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reporting. In California's fire ravaged Altadena area, the concern today is not fire but rain and possible mudslides and debris flows.

Up to two inches of rain are forecast. Steve Futterman has details. It's not going to be a massive amount of rain, but with the charred mountains now without any vegetation, there are worries. In Alta Dena, which is located just below the San Gabriel Mountains, there's a heightened concern. People who live in vulnerable areas are placing sandbags in front of their homes. I want to make sure that we don't have any overflow on our curb into our property.

A few weeks ago, Dave Pierce would have welcomed rain, not so right now. Hopefully it'll be a nice slow easy rain. A flash flood warning is in effect through Monday. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. This is NPR News in Washington. Speaking with reporters on Air Force One this weekend, President Trump turned his attention to the prospect of making Greenland part of the United States. The territory is currently part of Denmark, and that nation is not interested in relinquishing it. Trump said taking Greenland into the U.S. would serve the larger purpose of protecting

the free world in that part of the globe. He said he believes the people of Greenland want to be with the U.S. The new CBS drama Watson debuts today. The show reimagines Sherlock Holmes sidekick John Watson as a medical detective running a clinic in Pittsburgh. NPR's Eric Deggans has more on the decision to cast a black man as Watson. Morris Chestnut plays John Watson as the super sharpsharp leader of a medical clinic, with little patience for staffers who don't understand the assignment.

You all act like you've never tracked down a missing person before. We're doctors, not detectives. Well, that's too bad because right now your patient needs a detective. CBS's Watson matches together several traditional TV genres, placing Watson in charge of a medical clinic while looking into the mysterious death of his friend Sherlock Holmes. Chestnut, a heartthrob known for films like The Best Man, offers a version of Watson as a suave, handsome African-American hero, reinventing traditional takes on the character.

Eric Deggans, NPR News. The Trump administration's CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News Today that a Biden-era agency investigation suggests strongly that the COVID pandemic likely emerged from a lab in Wuhan, China and that going forward the CIA will be investigating that further. I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News.