NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-04-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: February 4, 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. President Donald Trump is meeting at the White House today with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. It is Trump's first sit-down with a foreign leader since returning to office.

Netanyahu has faced challenges at home over the 15-month long war against Hamas in Gaza. Besitting with Trump in the Oval Office today expressed optimism about ending the conflict. I support getting all the hostages out and meeting all our war goals. That include destroying Hamas' military and governing capabilities and making sure that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel again. The meeting comes as both Trump and his Mideast envoys say they do not believe a three to five year timeline for the post-war reconstruction of Gaza is viable, Trump suggesting perhaps displaced Palestinians in Gaza need to move.

Palestinians claim Gaza is part of their homeland. Many say they want to stay and rebuild. President Trump has imposed a 10 percent tariff on all goods from China, but a proposed higher tariff on Canada. Mexico has been put off for 30 days while the countries talk. San Piero's Kamila Dominovski explains that's welcome news to the U.S. auto industry. Automakers like to say that the North American supply chain is highly integrated. What that means is that parts ping pong between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, sometimes crossing

the same border multiple times as they make their way through the complex manufacturing process. 25% tariffs would be a serious blow, even for cars assembled in the U.S. Trump has threatened these particular tariffs as a negotiating lever instead of a money-raiser, giving companies hope they'd never actually go into effect. But that also makes them hard to plan for, because companies don't want to spend money to try to avoid a tariff that might be imposed briefly or never at all. Camila Domenoski, NPR News. Two groups of FBI agents are suing the Justice Department, the separate lawsuits seeking to block the department from making public the names of agents who worked on January 6th Capitol riot cases. More from NPR's Ryan Lucas.

One of the lawsuits was filed by the FBI Agents Association and the other by a group of nine anonymous FBI agents. In recent days, the Justice Department has sought to obtain a list of FBI officials who worked on the Capitol riot investigation and or cases involving now President Trump. Both lawsuits view this as a retaliatory measure and seek to block the Justice Department from making public any such list of FBI agents. The plaintiffs fear among other things is that if the list is released it could open agents and their families to possible retribution by the 1,500 or so January 6 defendants who have been pardoned by President Trump.

Ryan Lucas, NPR News at the Justice Department. Job openings in the US move modestly lower in December though not to a point that suggests major softening in the labor market. Labor Department announcing today job openings in December fell from 8.2 to 7.6 million. By way of comparison, there were 12.2 million job openings in March of 2022. You're listening to NPR News.

The commissioner of the National Football League says the organization remains committed to its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Even as companies nationwide are rolling back DEI initiatives. That follows criticism from President Trump, more from NPR's Becky Sullivan. Speaking to reporters in New Orleans on Monday ahead of the upcoming Super Bowl, Commissioner Roger Goodell said not only is the NFL sticking with DEI, but also that diversity makes the league better. We're not in this because it's a trend to get in it or a trend to get out of it. Our efforts are fundamental in trying to attract the best possible talent.

In his first term, President Trump clashed with the league over its handling of players who took a knee during the national anthem as a way to protest racism and police brutality. Back then Trump urged fans to boycott the NFL. Now the president is planning to attend the biggest game of the year, the Sunday Super Bowl. He'll be the first sitting president to do so. Becky Sullivan, NPR News, New Orleans. Red Wolves once ranged across the country but in recent decades they have seen their numbers decline to the point where fewer than 20 are expected to be left in the wild. In North Carolina the only place where they roam decades, they have seen their numbers decline to the point where fewer than 20 are expected to be left in the wild. In North Carolina, the only place where they roam free, motorists

are the biggest threat to their survival. So for decades, conservationists have pushed for changes to US-64, a busy two-lane highway running through a wildlife refuge. Now it appears there may be some construction of tunnels beneath that roadway for the wolves and other animals to travel beneath the highway safely. Critical futures prices came under pressure today in word of a 10% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods oiled down 46 cents a barrel to end the session at $72.70 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.