NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-30-2025 1AM EST

Episode Date: January 30, 2025

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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have outlined their plans to slash the federal workforce with the help of a team of quote small government crusaders. What's in store for federal workers and how are they planning for change? This January 1A's dot gov series guides you through various government agencies and the people working for you. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. A surge continues in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., after a midair collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter at low altitude near Reagan National Airport. NPR's Jennifer Lutten reports.

American Airlines says there were 60 passengers on its plane with four crew members and it collided with an Army Blackhawk helicopter which had three crew members they collided over the Potomac as the American Airlines passenger was approaching Reagan National Airport having flown from Wichita, Kansas There is a massive search and rescue effort happening right now, and they are in difficult conditions. It is dark. The water is icy cold, and temperatures are expected to get below freezing. Reagan National Airport, meanwhile, has shut down.

The ticketing desks are empty. And here is Jennifer Ludden at Reagan National. Meanwhile, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom says that the carrier has set up a hotline for updates about the crash. Democratic Senators of World Health Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. about his views on vaccines. As NPR's Allison Albrey reports, lawmakers also want to hear more about Kennedy's call for some major changes to the nation's food policy.

R.F.K. Jr. has called for an overhaul of the nation's largest anti-hunger program, known as SNAP, billions of dollars to provide direct food assistance to millions of low-income Americans. There's a lot of bipartisan support for SNAP, but also criticism that SNAP benefits can be used to buy things like sugary sodas, candy, and chips. Kennedy has proposed restrictions on what can be purchased with SNAP benefits, but Ty Jones-Cox of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says this is up to Congress and USDA to make changes.

What makes the most sense and what gives us the real benefit that we're all looking for is to actually incentivize people to purchase healthy foods. She says the evidence supports preserving choice for people to buy what they want while at the same time encouraging healthier choices. Allison Albrey, NPR News. President Trump says he plans to use the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to house deported migrants. More from NPR's Saisha Pfeiffer.

Trump said he would instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing a 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo to hold what he called, quote, the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people. Guantanamo has for decades had a facility used to hold migrants intercepted at sea, usually Haitians and Cubans. It's part of the U.S. naval base there, not part of the U.S. military prison that holds suspected foreign terrorists detained after the 9-11 attacks. Trump offered few other details, including how the facility would be staffed and funded and if any new construction would be required.

It's unclear whether the existing migrant facility at Guantanamo currently has 30,000 beds available. Sasha Pfeiffer, NPR News. You're listening to NPR. Facebook parent Metta has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Trump after his social media accounts were suspended in wake of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump alleged that Facebook and owner Mark Zuckerberg engaged in impermissible censorship.

Zuckerberg was among the Silicon Valley executives who contributed large sums of money to Trump's second inaugural fund. A Meta official says most of the settlement money will be directed to Trump's presidential library. This week's billboard charts are out. An apostumous album is making a splash. NPR's Stephen Thompson has this report. While he was alive, Mac Miller released a string of top 10 albums, six in all. In the years following his death in 2018, Miller hasn't lost his impact on the Billboard charts.

His first posthumous album, Circles, hit the top five back in 2020. Five years later, Miller's estate released a follow-up album. It's a project the late rapper worked on more than a decade ago, but shelved for years. It's called Balloonerism. Fans' appetite for Mac Miller's music hasn't waned. Balloonerism enters this week's Billboard album chart at number three, behind only Bad Bunny and SZA. Steven Thompson, NPR News. U.S. futures are higher in after hours trading on Wall Street,

following slight losses during trading on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrials lost 136 points. This is NPR News. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Sending or spending money abroad, hidden fees may be taking a cut. With WISE, you can convert between up to 40 currencies at the mid-market exchange rate. Visit WISE.com. TNCs apply.