NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-31-2025 2PM EST

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. The White House says tariffs will go into effect tomorrow against Canada, Mexico and China. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt made the announcement. The President will be implementing tomorrow 25 percent tariffs on Mexico, 25 percent tariffs on Canada and a 10 percent tariff on China. Trump had threatened higher tariffs, saying Mexico and Canada have not done enough to stop drugs and migrants from entering the U.S. without legal status.

This could blow up the trade agreement that Trump himself had negotiated with them during his first term. Economists say the higher tariffs will result in higher prices for American consumers. Authorities in Washington, D.C. are back in the icy waters of the Potomac River today in search of more victims and clues behind the deadliest U.S. air crash in almost a quarter century. 67 lives were lost. As NPR's Julianna Kim reports, 26 of the bodies have yet to be found.

It's the second day in the investigation of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter. DC Fire said recovery teams surveyed all accessible areas at the crash site throughout the day on Thursday. They returned at first light to continue the search and salvage what remains of the wreckage. So far investigators have recovered the recording devices from the commercial plane and helicopter. The National Transportation Safety Board said it will not determine a probable cause at this time, but will provide a preliminary report within the next 30 days.

Juliana Kim, NPR News. The director of the U.S. Census Bureau, Robert Santos, says he's stepping down halfway through his five-year term. His departure clears the way for President Trump to name his own person to head the agency as it prepares for the 2030 census, which will determine legislative boundaries and the distribution of federal spending for the following decade. Stocks opened higher this morning as the Commerce Department reported a jump in personal spending last month. NPR's Scott Horsley reports. Personal

spending jumped by seven-tenths of a percent in December. As Americans spent more on both goods and services, personal income was also up during the month but not as much. Many people dipped into savings or borrowed money to finance their additional spending. The already low personal savings rate fell further in December to 3.8 percent. The Commerce Department's inflation yardstick, which is closely watched by the Federal Reserve, shows prices in December were up 2.6 percent from a year ago. That's a slightly larger annual increase than the previous month. Asian stocks were mixed overnight up in Tokyo Tokyo but down in Seoul. Markets in

Hong Kong and Shanghai remain closed for the Lunar New Year. Scott Horsley, MPR News, Washington. At last check on Wall Street, the market was mixed. The Dow is down 232 points. The S&P is up one point. This is NPR News. Hamas says it will release three more hostages tomorrow who've been held since Hamas attacked Israel in October of 2023. Among them is an American Israeli man, 65-year-old Keith Siegel. His wife was released last year. In return, Israel says it will release more than 100 Palestinians detained in Israel. NASA's two stranded astronauts got a change of scenery, stepping out for

the first time together 260 miles above the Earth. NPR's Amy Held reports. Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams' time aboard the orbiting lab was supposed to last about a week this summer. They're still there. For what's looking like a 10-month stay after their ride, the Boeing Starliner experienced leaks and other problems. So it's understandable they'd want to get out and stretch their legs. That's just what they did Thursday for five and a half hours on their first joint spacewalk. Successfully removing a stubborn broken antenna, narrated by Mission Control, Williams already performed a spacewalk earlier this month, but this, her ninth overall, broke a record for the most time spent

on a spacewalk for any female astronaut. NASA says she and Wilmore will return to Earth by late March at the earliest aboard a SpaceX capsule. Amy Held, NPR News. It was five years ago today that the United Kingdom left the European Union after a vote in favor of Brexit, as it was known. The UK is still dealing with the economic, social, and cultural fallout. The current Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, had voted to stay in the EU and wants better relations with it now. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Fresh air? Up first. NPR News Now, Planet Money, Ted Radio Hour, ThruLine,

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