NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-04-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: February 4, 2025

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We Came to the Forest, a new investigative podcast, exposes the hidden truths behind a nighttime shootout in Atlanta that left one activist dead and countless lives forever changed. Binge all episodes of We Came to the Forest ad-free on Wondery Plus. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House soon. They're holding a meeting weeks after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began in Gaza. Another Trump nominee is heading to the full Senate for a vote today.

Tulsi Gabbard's nomination for director of national intelligence cleared the Senate Intelligence Committee in a nine to eight vote. Earlier, a Senate committee advanced Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination for secretary of health and Human Services. The U.S. Senate has voted 77-23 to confirm President Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. NPR's Quill Lawrence reports the new VA Secretary is former Congressman Doug Collins. Collins is an Iraq veteran and a colonel in the Air Force Reserves.

He served three terms representing Georgia in the House, but he's much better known for his support of President Trump than for working on veterans issues. The Department of Veterans Affairs has been mentioned as one of the biggest targets for jobs and spending cuts. Hundreds of thousands of mostly healthcare staff work at VAs nationwide. But millions of American military veterans get VA medical and disability benefits, which makes cutting it politically sensitive. Collins appeared well prepared at his Senate committee hearing two weeks ago, winning near-unanimous bipartisan support. But Democrats are already demanding that Collins push back on the federal hiring freeze and several other Trump administration moves.

Quill Lawrence, NPR News. Elon Musk is spearheading a campaign to dramatically upend federal agencies. N PRS Bobby Allen notes Musk's job to radically cut government costs through the entity known as the Department of Government Efficiency was described as a temporary gig, but that and the extent of Musk's authority are still murky. Government watchdogs are worried he is going to operate with no guardrails. Now President Trump said Musk is acting only with the explicit approval of the White House and that quote, where we think there's a conflict or a problem, we won't let him go near it. That's what Trump said recently.

NPR's Bobby Allen reporting. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the U.S. may soon lose their temporary legal status under new regulations released by the Trump administration. NPR's Greg Allen reports Venezuelan-American leaders are calling the TBS policy change of betrayal and plan to challenge it in court. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says renewing temporary protected status for more than 300,000 Venezuelans is, quote, contrary to the national interest. That comes as a blow to Venezuelans who came to the U.S. seeking refuge from the authoritarian

Nicolas Maduro regime and now face possible deportation. Adelise Ferro, with the Venezuelan American caucus, says her community is shocked and disappointed. During the campaign, the elected officials from the Republican Party, they actually told us that he was not going to touch the documented people. TPS designations are generally 6 to 18 months, but repeated extensions are not uncommon. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami. The Nasdaq is up 224 points or more than 1%. This is NPR News. Well, the administration hit the pause on tariffs against the U.S.'s North American neighbors staving off a regional trade war.

The Trump administration has agreed to a 30-day delay after Canada and Mexico pledged to increase border security enforcement. Over the weekend, Trump called for 25 percent tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican imports. In addition, Trump wanted to impose a 10 percent tax on Canadian energy imports. There is an ongoing outbreak of Ebola in Uganda. One person has died so far. Usually the U.S. supports local efforts to contain the deadly virus, but as NPR's Gabrielle Emanuel reports, that is not happening this time because of the Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid.

Typically, Uganda uses money from the U.S. to securely transport samples from suspected Ebola cases to their national lab for testing. Similarly, they use U.S. funds to check travelers leaving the country to make sure they aren't carrying Ebola across borders. But that support is missing. WHO will step in to provide resources for those functions. Mike Ryan is with the World Health Organization. He says WHO is filling the funding gaps for now, but the freeze on aid is complicating multiple emergencies at once. We do need our U.S. colleagues out there working on these issues.

President Trump has ordered the U.S. to withdraw from WHO and stop funding the organization. Gabriella Emanuel, NPR News. The Dow is up 148 points, the S&P has risen 40, and the Nasdaq is up more than 200 points. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. Our long national nightmare is over. Beyoncé has finally won the Grammy for Album of the Year. How and why did it take so long for Beyoncé 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 Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR.