NPR News: 01-22-2025 2PM EST

Summary

NPR News Now: January 22, 2025, 2PM EST – Detailed Summary

On the January 22, 2025, episode of NPR News Now, host Lakshmi Singh delivered a comprehensive update on the latest national and international news. The episode covered a range of topics, including political developments, public safety incidents, advancements in space science, and significant movements in the business world. Below is a detailed summary of the key discussions, insights, and conclusions presented during the broadcast.

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1. President Trump's Pardons for January 6th Participants

Lakshmi Singh opened the episode by addressing the controversial pardons issued by former President Donald Trump to over 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. David Brown, an independent voter from South Carolina, expressed his disapproval of the pardons, highlighting a sense of injustice and disrespect toward law enforcement.

• David Brown (00:53):
  "I believe if they were instructed to do something and they did not follow the officers or the police enforcement rules and follow what they said, they should be serving their time. I think it's pretty much a slap in the face of the law establishment."

Supporting these sentiments, an NPR/PBS Marist poll released prior to Trump’s presidency indicated that approximately 60% of Americans disapproved of the pardoning of January 6 rioters (01:07). This considerable disapproval underscores the ongoing national debate over accountability and the rule of law.

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2. Antioch High School Shooting and Immigration Enforcement

The episode also reported a tragic incident at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee, where three students were injured in a shooting (01:17). The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) provided updates via social media, noting that one of the injured was the suspect, who sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In response, buses were arranged to transfer other students to a safer location to reunite with their families.

Amidst this incident, the administration's stance on immigration enforcement was also highlighted. A U.S. official revealed plans for the Pentagon to deploy up to 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S. border with Mexico, although specific units remain undetermined (01:17).

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3. Marco Rubio’s Priorities as Secretary of State

Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined his strategic priorities at the State Department, emphasizing a shift away from the previous administration's focus areas. According to Michelle Kellerman of NPR, Rubio stressed the importance of securing the nation’s borders and collaborating with Western Hemisphere countries to manage illegal immigration (02:04).

• Marco Rubio (02:04):
  "Under my leadership, the State Department will help President Trump return to American energy dominance and do away with climate policies that he believes weaken America."

Rubio also indicated a move to "get back to the basics of diplomacy" by minimizing focus on "political and cultural causes that are, quote, divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad," specifically mentioning LGBTQ rights and climate change. This realignment includes the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, reaffirming the administration’s commitment to energy independence over environmental initiatives.

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4. Netflix Price Hike and Prince Harry’s Legal Settlement

Netflix announced another price increase for its streaming services in the United States. The standard, ad-free plan rose by over $2 to $17.99 per month, while the cheaper option with advertisements increased by $1 to $7.99 per month (02:49). Additionally, the streaming giant is intensifying efforts to curb password sharing among users. Despite these changes, Netflix reported that total paid memberships surpassed 300 million subscribers worldwide in the fourth quarter.

In a separate entertainment-related news piece, Prince Harry and senior British lawmaker Tom Watson secured an unprecedented apology from Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids. This settlement effectively concluded their legal battle over privacy breaches without proceeding to trial.

• David Folkenflik (03:34):
  "The News of the World... essentially apologized to him for going into his personal life in deep and unlawful and insensitive ways and even reached back to his childhood and to apologizing for the treatment of his mother, Princess Diana."

This resolution marks the end of Harry’s prolonged efforts to hold these tabloids accountable for their invasive practices.

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5. Discovery of Chorus Waves in Space

Shifting to scientific advancements, Regina Barber reported on a groundbreaking study regarding chorus waves—natural phenomena that produce bursts of radiation in space (03:56). These waves, harnessed from radiation occurring approximately 100,000 miles above Earth's surface, are generated by "bunched up charged electrons trapped in Earth's magnetic field."

A recent study published in the journal Nature by researchers in Beijing, China, was the first to identify chorus waves in a region where Earth’s magnetic field is notably weak and less uniform. Understanding these waves is crucial as they have the potential to "accelerate particles to close to the speed of light," which poses risks to satellites and other spacecraft.

• Regina Barber (04:10):
  "This information could help protect satellites and other spacecraft from damage, since chorus waves can accelerate particles to close to the speed of light."

This discovery opens new avenues for safeguarding space infrastructure against natural space weather phenomena.

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6. Financial Markets Update

Concluding the episode, Lakshmi Singh provided a brief update on the financial markets. The NASDAQ Composite Index rose by 267 points, marking a 1.3% increase (04:47). This uptick indicates positive investor sentiment and potential growth in the technology sector.

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Conclusion

The January 22, 2025, episode of NPR News Now offered listeners a thorough overview of pressing issues spanning political controversies, public safety, international diplomacy, corporate strategies, scientific discoveries, and financial markets. By integrating firsthand accounts, expert analysis, and significant data points, the episode ensured that listeners remained informed about the multifaceted developments shaping the national and global landscape.

Transcript

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[Lakshmi Singh]

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Some Trump voters say they have reservations about the president's pardon of more than 1500 people who participated in a violent attack on the US Capitol January 6, 2021. Trump. Trump issued pardons within the first several hours of his presidency. NPR's Ashley Lopez reports.

[Ashley Lopez]

David Brown in South Carolina is an independent voter who has mostly voted for Democrats, but last year he voted for Trump and already he disagrees with some of Trump's decisions. Among them is the January 6th pardons. Brown, who earlier in his life served as a police officer in Washington, D.C. said Trump's pardons are a miscarriage of justice.

[David Brown]

I believe if they were instructed to do something and they did not follow the officers or the police enforcement rules and follow what they said, they should be serving their time. I think it's pretty much a slap in the face of the law establishment.

[Ashley Lopez]

An NPR PBS Marist poll conducted right before Trump took Office found roughly six out of 10Americans disapprove of Trump pardoning January 6 rioters. Ashley Lopez, NPR News.

[Lakshmi Singh]

The Metro Nashville Police Department says three students were injured in a shooting at Antioch High School today. It in a posting on the social media platform X, the MNPD says the students in Tennessee include a suspect who sustained a self inflicted gunshot wound. Buses are transferring other students from the school to a site to reunite with their families. There's been no word on motive in the wake of the administration's immigration enforcement actions. A U.S. official tells NPR the Pentagon will send up to 1500 active duty troops to the U.S. border with Mexico, nowhere yet on which specific units will be deployed. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is laying out his priorities at the State Department department downplaying diversity and inclusion as well as the previous administration's focus on climate change and disinformation. Here's NPR's Michelle Kellerman.

[Marco Rubio]

Secretary Rubio says his first priority is to secure America's borders and work with countries in the Western Hemisphere to take back those he calls illegal immigrants. He also says he will get back to the basics of diplomacy and eliminate what he describes as a focus on political and cultural causes that are, quote, divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad, includes LGBTQ rights. Rubio says under his leadership, the State Department will help President Trump return to American energy dominance and do away with climate policies that he believes weaken America. The Trump administration has again withdrawn from the Paris climate accord. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.

[Lakshmi Singh]

Netflix is again raising the price for streaming privileges in the U.S. the cost of a standard plan without commercials is climbing more than $2 to $17.99 a month. The cheaper option with ads is going up a buck to $7.99. Netflix has been cracking down on password sharing. Yesterday it announced that total paid memberships in the fourth quarter topped 300 million subscribers worldwide. It's NPR News. Prince Harry and his senior British lawmaker Tom Watson have secured an unprecedented apology from Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids as part of their settlement that resolves their legal dispute and avoids a very public trial. NPR's David Folkenfl from Lennon. The agreement ends Harry's years long battle to hold the newspapers accountable for privacy breaches.

[David Folkenfl]

The News of the World, another Sunday tabloid they then closed during the height of the scandal, had engaged in phone hacking and other unlawful and unwarranted invasions of his privacy. They essentially apologized to him for going into his personal life in deep and unlawful and insensitive ways and even reached back to his childhood and to apologizing for the treatment of his mother, Princess Diana.

[Lakshmi Singh]

NPR's David Folkenflick reporting. Turns out space is kind of chatty. NPR's Regina Barber reports on a natural phenomenon that produces bursts of radiation that scientists call chorus waves.

[Regina Barber]

That sound isn't from Star Trek. It's an audio clip created from radiation coming 100,000 miles above Earth's surface. These waves are thought to be created from bunched up charged electrons trapped in Earth's magnetic field. These rising and lowering waves of radiation have been studied for the past 70 years. And a new study from Beijing, China, published in the journal Nature was the first to find these waves at this location, where Earth's magnetic field is weak and less uniform. This information could help protect satellites and other spacecraft from damage, since chorus waves can accelerate particles to close to the speed of light. Regina Barber, NPR News.

[Lakshmi Singh]

The NASDAQ is up 267 points, or 1.3%. This is NPR.

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