NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-05-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: February 6, 2025

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Hey, it's Robin Hilton from NPR Music. Many years ago, I helped start the Tiny Desk Concert Series. Right now, NPR is looking for the next great undiscovered musician to perform behind the famous desk. Think you've got what it takes? Submit a video of you playing an original song to the Tiny Desk Contest by February 10th. Find out more and see the official rules at npr.org slash tiny desk contest.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. Arab and Muslim Americans are expressing anger over President Trump's proposed US takeover of Gaza and relocation of displaced Palestinians. NPR's Don Gagne reports from Dearborn, Michigan, which is home to a large concentration of Arab and Muslim Americans. Sam Ali is a business consultant in Dearborn, Michigan, which is home to a large concentration of Arab and Muslim Americans. Sam Ali is a business consultant in Dearborn, a third generation Arab American. He sat out the 2024 presidential election in protest of the Biden administration's handling of the war in Gaza.

But he is also very critical of Muslim Americans who decided the answer was to support Donald Trump. They all got made fools of. All were given empty promises. He said Trump's plans for Gaza would never have been fair or workable for the Palestinian people who call Gaza home. Others expressed concerns that Trump's proposal came with no consultation with those it will affect the most. Don Gagne, NPR News, Dearborn. Satellite photos show more than 100 tents at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that are being used for housing thousands of deported migrants. NPR's Jeff Brumfield has more.

The satellite imagery came from the commercial company Planet. It shows roughly 140 green military tents erected in fields next to one of Guantanamo's airstrips. The Trump administration says it wants to house up to 30,000 migrants at Guantanamo Bay. That number is far above what existing facilities can support. The White House says the base will serve as a temporary holding facility for individuals awaiting deportation to other countries. But some immigration experts say keeping migrants at Guantanamo could be illegal. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. A fired Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board is suing to get her

job back. Gwen Wilcox was the first black woman to serve on the board. NPR's Andrea Shue has her story. Andrea Shue, NPR News Anchor Gwen Wilcox learned she was being removed from her job in a late-night email last week. She's the first member of the Independent Labor Board to be ousted in its 90-year history. Her attorneys say her firing is a blatant violation of the National Labor Relations Act, which allows presidents to remove board members only in cases of neglect of duty or malfeasance.

The lawsuit seeks to have her reinstated. Without Wilcox, the Labor Board lacks a quorum, halting much of its work adjudicating labor disputes. Under former President Biden, the board issued a number of decisions favorable to workers and unions. Andrea Hsu, NPR News. President Trump has signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in female sports.

The order directs the Department of Education to inform schools that ignoring it would violate federal law against sex discrimination in education. You're listening to NPR News. The Mexican government has deployed thousands of troops to its northern border with the United States. The move comes after President Trump agreed to delay U.S. tariffs if Mexico increased its border security and efforts to crack down on fentanyl trafficking. California Governor Gavin Newsom is stressing the need for federal aid for survivors of

the Los Angeles area wildfires and efforts to rebuild devastated communities. Newsom conveyed his concerns during a meeting with President Trump and members of Congress today in Washington. Private weather forecaster AccuWeather estimates that the damage from the L.A. area fires will top $250 billion. A group of scientists say they've temporarily reversed some of the symptoms of a paralyzing genetic disorder by stimulating nerves in the spine. NPR's John Hamilton reports on a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh tried spinal stimulation on three people with spinal muscular atrophy, a rare inherited disorder that kills off many of the nerve cells that control muscles. During a month of daily stimulation, participants' leg muscles grew stronger and they were able to walk farther. Doug McCullough, who is 57, was one of the participants. And after some days, my legs just felt super charged. It's like, man, I feel like I can walk a mile. Stimulation appears to work by restoring connections

between the surviving motor neurons, which control muscles, and sensory neurons, which monitor what those muscles are doing. John Hamilton, NPR News. U.S. futures are flat in after hours trading on Wall Street following Wednesday's games. This is NPR. 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.