NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-01-2025 8PM EST

Episode Date: February 2, 2025

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Are you the greatest musician the world has never heard? Unsigned artists, now's your opportunity to play the Tiny Desk. Enter the 2025 Tiny Desk Contest, our nationwide search for the next undiscovered star. The winner will play a Tiny Desk concert and a U.S. tour. To learn more, visit npr.org slash tiny desk contest. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. President Trump signed executive orders today, imposing 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada and 10 percent on goods from China. He says energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10 percent tariffs.

They take effect on Tuesday. That could raise prices for U.S. consumers on a variety of items, including fruits and vegetables, flat-screen TVs, and auto parts. These countries are the U.S.'s three biggest trading partners. A statement from the White House says the tariffs are to address the illegal flow of drugs and immigrants across the U.S. northern and southern borders. Both Canada and Mexico have vowed to retaliate. Congressional Democrats are warning a purge of FBI agents and prosecutors who worked on cases involving President Trump and the Capitol riot will make the country less safe. And Pierce Kerry Johnson reports dozens of prosecutors

have already been fired and more dismissals could come soon. Senator Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said the personnel moves are a brazen assault on the rule of law. The interim U.S. attorney in Washington, who once advocated bogus theories about election fraud, fired more than two dozen prosecutors who worked on Capitol riot cases.

Those lawyers had been on probationary status, so they lack full civil service protection. Senior Justice Department officials had already dismissed a bunch of other lawyers who worked with special counsel Jack Smith to build cases against Trump. Now comes word the administration's making a sweeping list of FBI personnel who worked on January 6 cases. That list is due next week and it could lead to more firings. Kari Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

Kari Johnson, NPR News, Washington. President Trump today says he ordered precision military strikes on ISIS positions in Somalia. On social media, he says those strikes killed many terrorists without in any way harming civilians. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strikes, saying the U.S. always stands ready to find and eliminate terrorists who threaten the U.S. and our allies. In Los Angeles, the two fires that ravaged parts of the city last month have now been totally contained. Steve Futterman has more.

The Palisades and Eaton fires broke out on January 7th, growing rapidly as wind gusts of nearly 100 miles an hour spread flames with frightening speed. One of the hardest hit areas was Pacific Palisades. When he returned the next day, Alexander Gospodinov described what he saw. It's like war zone. It's a disaster. It looks like the end of the world. Also hit hard was Altadena. Between the two fires, more than 37,000 acres have been burned, more than 16,000 structures destroyed many of those residences. 29 deaths have been reported. Estimates put the economic loss at more than $250 billion.

Steve Futterman reporting. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The estate of one of Superman's original creators is suing DC Comics and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. Ampere's Chloe Velpin reports the lawsuit seeks to block the use of the character on screen in several overseas markets. The new Superman movie starring David Corrin Sweat is scheduled to drop in July. Home. David home. But its release in key markets such as the UK, Australia, Ireland and Canada is now in jeopardy,

owing to a lawsuit filed Friday in the Southern District of New York by the family of Superman graphic artist Joseph Schuster. The complaint claims the rights to the Superman story under copyright law in those countries automatically terminated 25 years after Schuster's death. He died in 1992. The graphic artist dreamed up the Superman character in 1934 alongside writer Jerry Siegel. The pair were working for Detective Comics, a predecessor to DC Comics at the time. In an email to NPR, a Warner Bros spokesperson says, quote, we fundamentally disagree with the merits of the lawsuit and will vigorously defend our rights. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. Costco and the Teamsters Union reached a tentative contract agreement, avoiding a strike.

Details haven't been released, but the union said it wanted a contract reflecting Costco's sales and profit growth. The company's revenue rose 5% to $254 billion in its most recent fiscal year that ended on September 1st. This deal now has to be approved by the Teamsters union members. I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Usher, Yo-Yo Ma, Boy Genius, Shaka Khan, Billie Eilish, Weird Al, one thing all these big stars News from Washington.