NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-28-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: January 28, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Nearly 1.4 million immigrants in the United States legally could be quickly removed from this country. President Trump has ended a couple of Biden-era humanitarian parole programs that allowed migrants who fled danger or persecution to reside in the U.S. temporarily. NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran has more. One of the programs, known as CHNV Parole, allowed people fleeing Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela the opportunity to be in the U.S. temporarily after being vetted and

showing proof of a sponsor. The other, the CBP-1, allowed asylum seekers who used a mobile app to schedule an appointment to be allowed in the U as they await their immigration hearing. Both programs have ended under Trump. That would mean that the nearly 1.4 million people who came to the US using a legal pathway could be subjected to expedited removals. The administration says it's focusing first on individuals who have committed crimes in the US. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News, Austin. of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. The Rwandan government denies involvement, but Emmett Livingstone reports from Goma that the DRC and Rwanda are both facing international pressure to restart peace talks. Most residents in Goma are still sheltering in place. While the situation on the streets remains

uncertain, outside our hotel, columns of Rwandan-backed M23 fighters marched past this morning. Dressed in green camouflage and carrying machine guns and rocket launchers, they looked calm as they headed uphill towards the city centre. The non-stop crackle of gunfire and the blasts of mortar strikes is no more, and the battle for Goma is mostly over. The first few civilians began to trickle out onto the road. Internet is still cut and reliable information in short supply. According to sources on the ground in other Goma neighborhoods, there are still pockets of Congolese defenders holding out across the city, including in the center. For NPR News, I'm Emmett Livingstone in Goma. The conference board shows that the public's feeling less confident about the U.S. economy.

Here's NPR's Scott Horsley. Consumer confidence fell in January for the second month in a row. People surveyed by the conference board were generally less upbeat about both the current economic situation and the prospects six months down the road. Even though employers added more than a quarter million jobs in December, only about one in three people surveyed said jobs are easy to find. Meanwhile, one in six said jobs are hard to come by. That's the first time the surveys pointed to a worsening job market in four months. The Conference Board found younger people are generally less confident about the economy while those

aged 55 and older feel pretty good. While the confidence index has declined in recent months, it's still above the level that typically signals a looming recession. It's NPR. President Trump says a large number of drone sightings over New Jersey late last year were either authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration for research or flown by hobbyists and private individuals who enjoy flying drones. In a statement read by Press Secretary Caroline Levitt today, Trump says that in time it got worse due to curiosity and added, quote, this was not the enemy.

Levitt broke the news this afternoon during the first White House press briefing of Trump's second term. A company that hopes to produce a new supersonic commercial airliner to succeed the Concorde has broken the sound barrier in a test flight over the Mojave Desert. NPR's Scott Newman has details. There we are. XB-1 is supersonic, faster than the speed of sound. A company known as Boom Technologies nudged its XB-1 demonstrator to Mach 1.1, just over

the speed of sound. That's about 850 miles per hour. The Denver-based company says the XB-1 is the world's first independently developed supersonic jet. Boom is already developing an 80 passenger supersonic airliner known as Overture. This test flight is meant to provide crucial data to that project. Both the United and American Airlines have shown interest in purchasing Overture, which the company aims to have flying commercially by 2030. The plane could cut transcontinental and transoceanic airline travel times in half.

Scott Newman, NPR News. US stocks are trading higher with the Dow up 137 points. This is NPR.