NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-04-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

NPR News: 02-04-2025 11PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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 Shae Stevens. President Donald Trump says the U.S. will take temporary control of the Gaza Strip and threatens to deploy U.S. troops there if necessary to do so.

The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too. We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out. Speaking at a White House press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said that Palestinians in Gaza

should be relocated to other countries. He did not say where or what authority should control the territory after a U.S. takeover. The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is placing all of its employees on administrative leave. And overseas personnel are under orders to return to the U.S. within 30 days. The move comes as billionaire Elon Musk takes steps to dismantle USAID, which has been responsible for administering humanitarian and development aid overseas. In New York, Nassau County says it will cross-designate 10 of its police detectives as immigration

enforcement officers. It is the first significant expansion of local police cooperation with ICE since President Trump began his second term. NPR's Martin Costi has details. Many jurisdictions already work with ICE to identify potential deportees inside jails. But New York State's bail reform law has made it harder to hold people long enough for ICE to come and get them. And that's why Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder wants to streamline the process. If we make an arrest and I'm going to let somebody out on an appearance ticket because of no bail at my station house, I will be notifying ICE that this person is here undocumented

and that they will be able to come and pick that individual up. Ten Nassau police detectives will have the authority to make immigration arrests, though the county executive says they won't be quote, out looking for illegal migrants in the absence of other criminal charges. Martin Costey, NPR News. Search crews have recovered the remains of all 67 victims from the mid-air collision near Reagan National International Airport. NPR's Joel Rose reports that crews are still working to remove debris from the

deadliest U.S. aviation disaster in 20 years. Federal investigators are still trying to piece together the events that led to the collision of an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter. The National Transportation Safety Board says data from an air traffic control display shows the helicopter was at 300 feet at the time of the collision, well above the 200-foot ceiling it was required to maintain. Investigators say they need more information from the wreckage of the helicopter, which they hope will be removed from the Potomac River later this week. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington.

You're listening to NPR News. The U.S. Postal Service says it will temporarily stop accepting packages shipped from China. USPS says letters and large envelopes from China and Hong Kong will not be affected by the move, which comes as the U.S. imposes 10 percent tariffs on certain Chinese imports. China's Ministry of Commerce says it will retaliate with its own tariffs on U.S. imports starting Monday. Beijing plans to slap a 10 percent tariff on crude oil, farm machinery, and large displacement

fuel cars from the U.S. and a 15 percent tariff on coal and liquefied national gas products. The Waffle House chain says it's imposing a temporarily 50-cent surcharge on each egg order. That sends response to the biggest bird flu outbreak in a decade. The outbreak has forced farmers to slaughter millions of chickens, causing a shortage of eggs at grocery stores. This week's billboard charts are out, and a brand new song debuts at number one. NPR Stephen Thompson reports. In recent weeks, the Hot 100 has been dominated by two songs that feature Bruno Mars. There's

his duet with Lady Gaga and his duet with Rosé from Blackpink. This week, though, Mars gave up the top spot to a new song, debuting at number one. It's called 4x4 by the rapper Travis Scott. 4x4 is Travis Scott's fifth song to hit number one, but the other four all stayed at the top spot for just a single week, so Bruno Mars may be back at number one before we know it. Stephen Thompson, NPR News. This is NPR. Our long national nightmare is over. Beyonce has finally won the Grammy for Album of the Year. NPR News.