NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-04-2025 10PM EST

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

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Our long national nightmare is over. Beyonce has finally won the Grammy for Album of the Year. How and why did it take so long for Beyonce to win the top prize at Music's Biggest Night? We're talking about her big wins and breaking down the Grammys for Kendrick Lamar, Chappell Rhone, and Sabrina Carpenter. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The State Department is placing staff at the U.S. agency for international development on administrative leave beginning Friday and for agency workers outside the U.S. they will mostly be called home. NPR

Shannon Bond reports it's the Trump Administration's latest effort to dismantle the agency. An email to State Department staff said the department is recalling USAID employees to the U.S. as soon as this weekend. About two-thirds of USAID's 10,000 employees serve overseas in more than 60 missions around the world. Current and former employees say such an abrupt recall would be logistically challenging and expensive. USAID has been

in turmoil in recent days as President Trump and his advisor Elon Musk seek to shutter the agency and fold its operations into the State Department. Shannon Bond, NPR News. President Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today and speaking to reporters after the meeting, Trump suggested the US will take ownership of the Gaza Strip. More from NPR's Lexi Shapidle. In a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump repeated his assertion that the Palestinians displaced in Gaza

should be relocated to other countries. He also proposed that the United States should, quote, take over and own Gaza for an indefinite long-term period of time. This was not a decision made lightly. Everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land, developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be magnificent.

Trump did not respond to questions about what authority the US has to take over the Palestinian territory. The president also didn't rule out sending US troops to Gaza to support the redevelopment. Lexi Shapittle, NPR News, Washington. The Senate has confirmed Pam Bondi as the new attorney general for the U.S. Bondi secured all Republican votes plus one Democrat, Pennsylvania's John Federman. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports. Pam Bondi is a former attorney general for

the state of Florida and a Trump loyalist. Republicans view her as highly qualified to lead the Justice Department while Democrats have concerns about whether she can be independent from Trump. Bondi was one of his personal attorneys during his first impeachment trial in the Senate. She's also echoed his claims that the justice system has been weaponized against conservatives. Bondi now takes the helm at the Justice Department as it is reeling from a series of personnel moves imposed by the Trump administration that have pushed out senior career officials at both the DOJ and the FBI. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.

President Trump's paid-to-be director of national intelligence has moved a step closer to her Senate confirmation. Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee voting behind closed doors to advance Tulsi Gabbard's nomination onto the full Senate. Gabbard is a former Democratic Congresswoman and one of Trump's more divisive picks. In addition to making sympathetic comments about Russia, Gabbard has also met with Syria's now deposed leader in the past, supported government leaker Edward Snowden. You're listening to NPR.

Coupled with retaliatory tariffs against US goods, China's move to open an antitrust investigation into Google is a latest development, a relationship that dates back roughly 20 years. While Google's servers are not accessible in China, the company maintains a presence there primarily focusing on its ad business. Some experts believe China's antitrust investigation will

likely focus on the company's Android operating system for smartphones and could be used as a potential bargaining chip if the trade war between the US and China escalates. Polar bears constantly move between ice-cold water and frigid air, but their fur does not freeze. As NPR's Jonathan Lambert explains, a new study finds specialized grease prevents ice from forming. Most mammalian fur freezes when it gets wet

in cold temperatures. Think human beards on a frosty winter day. But polar bear fur doesn't really freeze. That ability likely stems from high levels of ice-resistant compounds in their fur grease, according to recent research in the journal Science Advances. The study also found that polar bears' greasy fur lacked a compound called squalene, which sticks to ice and is found on most other marine mammals. The researchers hope the work could lead to more environmentally friendly alternatives to some anti-ice materials in ski waxes, as well as new kinds of de-icing fluid for aircraft. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. Critical futures prices came under pressure today on word of a 10% U.S. tariff on Chinese

goods and retaliatory actions against U.S.-made goods, oil down 46 cents a barrel to 70.270 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. If you love NPR podcasts in Washington.