NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-05-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: February 5, 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 Lakshmi Singh. The White House is defending President Trump's proposal that the United States take control of the Gaza Strip, remarks it drew backlash in the Middle East and at home. White House Press Secretary Caroline

Levitt was peppered with questions today about Trump's comments. The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza. He has also said that the United States is not going to pay for the rebuilding of Gaza. His administration is going to work with our partners in the region to reconstruct this region. Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump and is holding more meetings in the region today. The U.S. Postal Service says it is accepting inbound mail packages and packages, that is,

from China and Hong Kong again. This after an announcement yesterday that it would not be accepting packages from China. Here's NPR's John Rewich. On Tuesday, the Postal Service announced an indefinite suspension of processing of incoming packages from China and Hong Kong. That came after President Trump's latest tariffs on China went into effect, and after he banned a tariff exemption for small packages that had become popular with e-commerce platforms. But the Postal Service reversed course today.

It says USPS and Customs and Border Protection are working closely together to, quote, implement an efficient collection mechanism for the new China tariffs to ensure the least disruption to package delivery. China's foreign ministry earlier urged the US to stop politicizing economics and trade and said China would continue to take necessary measures to safeguard its company's rights and interests. John Ruech, NPR News, Beijing. Well, the president needs people at Department of Homeland Security for his immigration policy,

and he's getting more of them compared to his first term in the White House. But as NPR's Ximena Bustillo explains, it might not be enough to execute his ambitious crackdown on immigration law. Numbers obtained by NPR show the total number of people on Homeland Security has kept steady or grown slightly over the last several presidencies. Despite this, current and former officials say it's not enough as the work increases and it takes time to quickly hire more people. This is not new to people like Michael Knowles, who since 2000 has been an elected union officer inside the agency.

There's not enough people to do the work that we were required to do by law and by public expectation. Trump is trying to fix this by bringing in other law enforcement agencies to arrest or transport people without legal status. And federal immigration employees are not allowed to resign as was offered to other federal workers. But it remains to be seen just how much this would help. Ximena Bustillo, NPR News. On Wall Street, U.S. stocks are mixed this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average up now 263 points, or more than half a percent.

It's at 44,819. The S&P is up 14 points. This is NPR News. Employees at the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency receive worker resignation offers in recent days, according to sources who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity. The move is part of an effort to realign the intelligence community with President Trump's agenda. A CIA spokesperson said that Director John Radcliffe is, quote, moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the administration's

national security priorities, end quote. The offers were sent to all employees of both agencies, though a source cautioned that there will likely be exceptions for highly sensitive or senior roles. The original members of Black Sabbath plan to reunite for a live performance this July for the first time in 20 years. The one-night charity event in Britain is being billed as back to the beginning. It's also expected to be Ozzy Osbourne's farewell concert. The former Black Sabbath frontman has been battling Parkinson's disease and other health complications in recent years. He's undergone several spinal surgeries. Rolling Stone highlights a 2023 interview in which Osborne seemed resigned to the possibility of never returning to the stage again. But according to a widely

reported social media statement today, Osborne says, quote, it's my time to go back to the beginning and Birmingham forever. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News. Valentine's Day is on the horizon and NPR News.