NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-29-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: January 29, 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 Shea Stevens. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces a Senate confirmation hearing this week on his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

And NPR's Will Stone reports that Kennedy is also facing massive opposition from within the medical community. Nobel laureates have written that Kennedy would put the nation's health in jeopardy. The American Public Health Association has come out against his nomination and recently thousands of physicians and others in health care have signed on to letters echoing these concerns. They cite Kennedy's history of promoting inaccurate claims on vaccines, infectious diseases and other areas of medical science

and his years leading an anti-vaccine advocacy group. Dr. Jerome Adams was the Surgeon General during President Trump's first term. He welcomes Kennedy's call for more attention to chronic diseases. But it cannot come at the expense of increasing vaccine hesitancy and decreasing childhood vaccination rates. A Kennedy spokesperson cannot be reached for comment, but last week told NPR Kennedy was prepared and excited for his confirmation hearings. Will Stone, NPR News. A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Trump's freeze on federal programs.

NPR's Osma Khalid reports that the judge's decision means that nothing will change at least until Monday. This all started when the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo that said a pause in funding would take effect at 5 p.m. to ensure that government programs are aligned with President Trump's priorities. But the sweeping freeze caused widespread confusion. The White House tried to clarify that certain programs, including Medicaid and food stamps, would not be affected. But many recipients are in limbo. And just as the rule was supposed to go into effect, a judge intervened, temporarily blocking it. The judge's decision

was in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of nonprofits. A follow-up hearing with more fulsome arguments over the merits of the case is now scheduled for Monday. Asma Khalid, NPR News. The latest edition of what's known as the nation's report card has been released. It's an important snapshot of how fourth and eighth graders are doing nearly five years after the pandemic forced school closings. Details from NPR's Cory Turner. The previous results from 2022 reflected some steep declines in student learning, and the

hope this time was that 2024 would show a turnaround. In fourth grade math, it did, with scores improving for most students, though they're still not back to pre-pandemic levels. Reading on the other hand was rough. Scores continued to fall for both fourth and eighth graders, and the lowest performing students are really struggling, scoring even lower in 2024 than the lowest performing readers did 30 years ago.

Other research has shown COVID relief dollars did help students make up some ground. These new data just underscore how much work is left to do. Corey Turner, NPR News. U.S. futures are flat in after hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR. An Air Force pilot safely ejected from a single-seat F-35 fighter jet shortly before it crashed on Tuesday in Alaska. The aircraft failed during a training exercise at Eielson Air Base, about 25 miles south

of Fairbanks. It was the third F-35 crash in less than two years. The cause is under investigation. A new analysis concludes that the hot, dry conditions that fueled the Los Angeles area wildfires are linked to climate change. NPR's Lauren Sommer has more on a report from climate scientists.

This winter, the stage was set for a disaster in Los Angeles. After a long, hot summer, the vegetation was dry. That high heat is linked to climate change and the heat-trapping gases that come from burning fossil fuels. That's according to a new analysis from World Weather Attribution, an international collaboration of climate scientists. Seasonal high winds and a lack of rain also made the conditions worse. But figuring out the influence of climate change on them is trickier scientifically.

Climate scientists are developing new computer models that can better analyze those complex impacts. Lauren Summer, NPR News. Dozens of people have been injured in a stampede at a festival in India. It is unclear what caused the crowd to rush toward a river in the state of Uttar Pradesh where tens of thousands of people had gathered for a holy bath. Authorities are expecting throngs to take part in the week's long event. Wednesday was considered a sacred day for the event, and authorities were braising for a record 100 million people

to take the ritual bath. On Asia Pacific, market shares are mostly higher. This is NPR News. Tanya Mosley This is TPR News.