NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-28-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: January 29, 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.gov series guides you through various government agencies and the people working for you. Listen to the 1A podcast from NPR. Jack Spear Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Looking to reduce the size of the federal workforce,

the Trump administration is offering employees the opportunity to resign rather than return to the office. Federal workers would have till next week to decide if they want to opt for what's being called deferred resignation, effective September 30th, something that drew a response from Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. The president has no authority to make that offer. There's no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work.

The administration says it hopes 5 to 10 percent of the federal workforce will accept. A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Trump's freeze on federal programs. NPR's Osma Hawley reports the decision means the status quo holds till 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 Trump administration's halt of refugee programs has stranded thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. military at war. NPR's Quillen supports veterans groups are pushing back. Afghans who helped out the U.S. military over 20 years of war were promised U.S. visas, but now thousands of them and their family members are stranded. The suspension of foreign aid also means no support for Afghans that the U.S. has evacuated to third countries. Veterans say they made promises to these Afghan allies. Tim Kennedy is a Green Beret who fought in Afghanistan.

The men that we were fighting alongside in Afghanistan, they would take extraordinary and exceptional risks and demonstrate countless acts of valor in the protection of us. On his first official day as Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth was asked about the issue. He said the U.S. stands with its allies but didn't elaborate. Quill Lawrence, NPR News. Google Maps says users will soon see Gulf of America instead of Gulf of Mexico on its app. NPR's Bobby Allen reports the tech company says it's in line with its rule of adopting names

Approved by government officials Google says it will make the change once President Trump's name change order takes effect people in Mexico However, we'll continue to see Gulf of Mexico those outside of either country will see both names displayed The tech giant says it regularly applies Localizing name conventions to geographic areas in dispute. More than 1 billion people use Google Maps every month. In addition to the Gulf of America, Google will also display Mount McKinley, not Denali, for the mountain peak in Alaska, per Trump's order. Alaska natives have referred to it as Denali for centuries. Bobby Allen, NPR News. This is NPR. The bulletin of atomic scientists have moved its Doomsday Clock one second closer to midnight.

As MPR's Jeff Bromfield explains, the clock is now closer to Armageddon than ever. The Doomsday Clock now sits at 89 seconds to midnight. The Bulletin's board cited rising temperatures and threats from new technologies like AI in their decision, but the major factor was a resurgent nuclear arms race. Daniel Holtz is a physicist from the University of Chicago who chairs the board. The countries that possess nuclear weapons are increasing the size and role of their arsenals. Meanwhile, arms control treaties are in tatters and there are active conflicts involving nuclear powers.

The Bolton-Stewbs state clock debuted in 1947 at the start of the nuclear age. The clock has moved back and forth over the years, but over the past decade, it's been ticking steadily down closer to zero. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. When this year's Grammy Awards kick off in Los Angeles, they'll look a little different. The 67th annual Grammys are slated for Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena. At least a portion of this year's award shows expected to focus on wildfire relief efforts and fundraising efforts to benefit victims of the fires. According to Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., says his team spoke with local officials, the fire department,

and others before deciding to proceed with the event. Beyonce leads the Grammy nominee pack but others, including Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, and Charlie XCX, are also hoping to take home awards. Critical futures rebounded a bit from multi-week lows as investors worry about possible tariffs against Canada and Mexico, oil up 60 cents a barrel to settle at $73.77 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies. Sending or spending money abroad? Hidden fees may be taking a cut. Washington.