NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-31-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Emergency teams continue to scour the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., as they keep up the search for the bodies of 26 people still missing after this week's midair collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter. D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly says operations to remove the fuselage from the river are expected to begin tomorrow. I believe for us to recover the rest of the remains that we are going to need to get the

fuselage out of the water. Authorities say the remains of 41 people have been recovered. Divers have retrieved the plane's black boxes, which are expected to help investigators piece together what happened in the final moments before the collision. have retrieved the plane's black boxes, which are expected to help investigators piece together what happened in the final moments before the collision. The plane was just several hundred feet from the runway at Reagan National Airport when it collided with the Army helicopter. Three Canadian federal cabinet ministers are in Washington today in a last-ditched attempt to stop crippling tariffs threatened by

the Trump administration. Dan Karpenchuk reports President Trump says he's ready to impose 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports starting on Saturday. The tariffs could disrupt more than a trillion dollars in annual trade. Now senior Canadian government officials are meeting with Republican lawmakers and members of the Trump administration to try to persuade the president not to impose the punitive measures. Trump called for the tariffs weeks ago, saying Canada and Mexico failed to stop the flow of illegal migrants and drugs into the U.S. Since then, Ottawa announced a more than $1 billion plan to bolster border security,

and says only a small percentage of illegal drug and immigrant crossings come from Canada. Political leaders also say both countries will suffer in a tear of war. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpanchuk in Toronto. Marco Rubio is set to take his first overseas trip as Secretary of State. NPR's Michelle Kelliman reports Rubio is staying relatively close to home, visiting five countries in the Western Hemerman reports, Rubio is staying relatively close to home, visiting five countries in the Western Hemisphere. Secretary Rubio is vowing to make this hemisphere a priority, heading first to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, he says the Trump administration will reward countries that cooperate with the U.S. on trade and migration but will act quickly to punish those who don't. Rubio pointed to a public spat with Colombia last weekend over military planes for deported migrants. Panama's president says he won't discuss control over the Panama Canal when he meets Secretary Rubio. The secretary, who has raised concerns about Chinese companies along the canal, plans to visit it on Sunday. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News, the State Department.

Stocks closed lower today on Wall Street. The Dow was down 337 points. This is NPR News. At least five senior members of the FBI have been notified that they should retire or resign by Monday or be fired. The notifications come as the Trump administration is seeking to reshape federal law enforcement agencies. That includes transferring Justice Department lawyers with decades of experience handling

civil rights, counterterrorism, and cyber crime into a new office that covers immigration enforcement. The front-runner to be Germany's next chancellor is under fire by the country's mainstream parties. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports they're criticizing him for cooperating with a far-right party on a motion to restrict immigration. Friedrich Matz, the leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union Party, is cooperating with the Alternative for Germany Party, or AFD, on a parliamentary motion to restrict immigration into the country.

The move is being criticized because the AFD is considered to be an extremist party that is under domestic surveillance for the threat it poses to Germany's democracy. When the AFD first gained popularity a decade ago, Merz's party and Germany's other mainstream parties made a pact to never cooperate with the AFD. Merz insists he wouldn't govern with the AFD but has moved to cooperate legislatively with the party has attracted criticism from Chancellor Olaf Scholz and former Chancellor Angela Merkel. Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Berlin. Regapping stocks on Wall Street, the Dow was down 337 points at the close, the S&P down 30.

This is NPR News from Washington.