NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-04-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: February 4, 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 Shae Stevens. President Trump has agreed to a 30-day delay on tariffs against Canada that were set to take effect on Tuesday.

Emma Jacobs reports that Prime Minister Gemmiston Trudeau released a statement after a phone call with Trump on Monday. Trudeau spoke to Trump twice over the course of the day. He wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Canada has committed more resources to border security and to fighting fentanyl trafficking, the ostensible reason for the proposed tariffs. In a post on his Truth Social site, Trump said the tariffs would be paused, quote, "...to see whether or not a final economic deal with Canada can be structured. Canada had promised retaliatory tariffs with the possibility of an escalating trade war. These will also be paused for 30 days. When President Trump was asked

earlier what Trudeau could do to change his mind, he responded that he'd like to see Canada become the 51st state, which Canadians overwhelmingly oppose. For NPR News, I'm Emma Jacobs in Montreal. European Union leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed to President Trump's demand to increase their investments in defense. Trump's threats to impose tariffs and seize the Danish territory of Greenland hung over the EU summit would have been called to focus on upgrading the bloc's military capabilities. Terri Schulz reports. Terri Schulz, U.S. Secretary of State for the United States of America's military

powers, said EU countries have long acknowledged they need to boost their military spending in the face of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says new financing options are being considered, such as loosening rules on maximum national debt or sharing costs of major weapons systems. Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, Russia For extraordinary times, it is possible to have extraordinary measures. But EU leaders also focused on rallying a united response to potential hostile actions from Washington. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. We cannot lose our European self-respect and self-confidence.

Trump says he plans to impose tariffs on the EU, but hasn't said when. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz. A coalition of groups is suing the Treasury Department for giving the newly created White House Office Doge access to its payment systems. Two unions and an advocacy group say the move exposes names, Social Security numbers, and other personal information on millions of Americans.

President Trump says billionaire Elon Musk, who runs Doge, will not make cuts without White House approval. Well, he's got access only to letting people go that he thinks are no good, if we agree with him. And it's only if we agree with him. He's a very talented guy from the standpoint of management and costs. And we put him in charge of seeing what he can do with certain groups and certain numbers. The numbers, some of the numbers are horrible, what he's found.

Elon Musk is leading a Trump administration campaign to upend government agencies and their spending. This is NPR News. The Trump administration is exploring dramatic cuts to the Department of Education, including executive action to end some programs. Dozens of department workers have been placed on administrative leave. Israeli forces leveled more than 20 buildings in a series of controlled detonations in the occupied West Bank.

As NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports, the explosions were part of Israel's sweeping offensive, which began last month. Israel says this is a counterterrorism operation launched in the city of Jenin two days after the ceasefire in Gaza went into effect last month. Since then, it has spread to several other Palestinian cities, including Togharam and Tobass. In a statement, the mayor of Jenin, Mohammed Jarar, said that the city is like a ghost town and that at least half is without water or electricity. The mayor of Taqaram, Abdullah Kamil, said on Facebook that nearly half of the city has been forced to flee. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment. The United

Nations called the operation, quote, alarming, saying that at least 39 Palestinians have been killed, including three children. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. NARESH NARANG, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS

ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, negotiations over the second phase of the ceasefire deal for Gaza. The agreement calls for an end to the war with Hamas and the return of all remaining Israeli hostages. The first phase of the deal included the release of 33 captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. U.S. futures are higher in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR News. Our long national nightmare is over. Beyoncé has finally won the Grammy for Album of the This is NPR News.