NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-04-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

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President Trump is back in Washington, pursuing major policy changes on his own terms. We know from the past that means challenging precedent, busting norms, and pushing against the status quo. NPR is covering it all with Trump's Terms, a podcast where we curate stories about the 47th president with a focus on how he is upending the way Washington works. Listen to Trump's Term terms from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. In Canada, they are booing the U.S. national anthem at sporting events.

That is just one indication of the outrage there over President Donald Trump's trying to spark a trade war. As NPR's Jackie Northen reports from Ottawa, many Canadians say they're disappointed and want to fight back. Canadian leaders and citizens were blindsided when President Trump announced last weekend he was imposing 25 percent tariffs on many of the country's products. On Monday, Trump said he was postponing that for a month, but that's done little to placate Canadians, says Roland Paris, a professor of international affairs at the University of Ottawa. I have never seen the Canadian public so angry and determined to stand up to Trump's threats against Canada's economy and sovereignty. Many Canadians are asking if threatening tariffs was worth angering the nation. Some of the concessions Trump claimed as a victory were already agreed to last year,

including the $1.3 billion in border security funding. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Ottawa. President Trump's pick 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 to the full Senate. Gabbard is a former Democratic congressman 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 and in the past supported government leaker Edward Snowden. NASA County, New York says it will cross-designate 10 of its police

detectives as immigration enforcement officers. As NPR's Martin Martin Costi explains it's the first significant expansion of local police cooperation with immigration and customs enforcement since President Trump's second term began. 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 Costi, NPR News. While the Trump administration says it has had some yeses to a proposal that would essentially give federal workers an early out, unions representing roughly 800,000 US government workers are

apparently saying not so fast. Unions filing a lawsuit today seeking to block the administration from offering nearly eight months of pay and benefits to workers who agree to leave early by a specific date. There have been complaints that deferred resignations are not legal. The Dow was down 134 points today. This is NPR. Cosmetics and fragrance maker Estee Lauder says it is expanding a restructuring effort at the company that will result in the elimination of as many as 7,000 jobs by FY 2026. The announcement from the global beauty company comes as it announced earnings cuts due to more subdued demand for its products in China and Korea, Estee Lauder says it swung

to a loss in the second fiscal quarter ending in December and a 6% drop in sales. This week's Billboard charts are out and a brand new song debuts at number one. NPR's Stephen Thompson has the story. 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. ["Fix your energy oh and soul and soul and soul"] 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. Steven Thompson, NPR News. Rocket company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos has given NASA a brief taste of gravity on the moon without venturing out of West Texas. Bezos' Blue Origin a brief taste of gravity on the moon without venturing out of West Texas. Bezos' Blue Origin launching a series of technology experiments to the edge of space.

Many of the more than two dozen experiments owned by NASA, NASA's hoping to weed out potential problems before sending certain items to the moon. The moon's gravity is roughly one-sixth that of Earth. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. Extreme weather disasters like wildfires and floods can devastate communities. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.