NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-05-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: February 5, 2025

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Matt Wilson spent years doing rounds at children's hospitals in New York City. I had a clip-on tie. I wore Heelys, size 11. Matt was a medical clown. The whole of a medical clown is to reintroduce the sense of play and joy and hope and light into a space that doesn't normally inhabit. Ideas about navigating uncertainty. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. uncertainty. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingly. President Trump is suggesting the U.S. take over the Gaza Strip after resettling displaced Palestinians to countries such as

Egypt and Jordan. Trump added he also imagines Palestinians living there. The president announced the idea at the White House yesterday following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. NPR's Lexi Shapidle reports. In a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Trump repeated his assertion that the Palestinians displaced in Gaza should be relocated to other countries. He also proposed that the United States should, quote,

take over and own Gaza for an indefinite long-term period of time This was not a decision made lightly everybody I've spoken to loves the idea of the United States Owning that piece of land developing and creating thousands of jobs with something that will be Magnificent Trump did not respond to questions about what authority the u.s. Has to take over the Palestinian territory. The president also didn't rule out sending U.S. troops to Gaza to support the redevelopment. Lexi Shapidle, NPR News, Washington.

Reaction to President Trump's proposal for Gaza has been swift and largely negative. The foreign ministers of Egypt and Turkey are among those speaking out against it, as is Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry. In Congress, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are critical of the president's idea. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described the president's proposal of the U.S. taking over the Gaza Strip as deranged. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina described it as problematic. Republican Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina says simply, it's not going to happen.

The State Department is in the process of withdrawing all employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development. NPR's Shannon Bond reports on the effort by the Trump administration to dismantle USAID. An email to State Department staff said the department is recalling USAID employees to the U.S. as soon as this weekend. About two-thirds of USAID's 10,000 employees serve overseas in more than 60 missions around the world. Current and former employees say such an abrupt recall would be logistically challenging and expensive. USAID has been in turmoil in recent days as President Trump and his advisor Elon Musk seek to shutter the agency and fold its operations into the State Department. Shannon Bond, NPR News. No arrests have been made in Ohio where police say a gunman killed one person and wounded

several others last night at a warehouse in New Albany, not far from Columbus. Authorities in Sweden say they're still investigating a motive for yesterday's deadly shooting at an adult education center west of Stockholm. Police say 11 people were killed, including the gunman. The gunfire broke out on a day when students were taking a national exam. This is NPR News. taking a national exam. This is NPR News. Google is abandoning its pledge not to use its artificial intelligence systems for surveillance or weapons. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, the tech giant says its new AI policies are designed to protect people and support national security. Back in 2018 when it was

revealed that AI developed by Google was being used by the US military's drone program, the backlash was swift. Both Google employees and outside groups put pressure on the company to end the relationship. And it did, with guidelines stating it would no longer work with the government on drone projects. Now Google has reversed its decision. In an update to its ethics guidelines, Google removed a ban on using company AI for weapons, surveillance, or any other uses that could cause harm. In a blog post about the move, Google executives wrote that the company will respect international law and human rights, but that there's global demand to use its technology to support national security.

Bobby Allen, NPR News. The U.S. Postal Service says it's suspending inbound package shipments from China and Hong Kong. This follows President Trump's decision to impose 10 percent tariffs on goods imported from China, and Beijing responded with tariffs of its own against various goods from the U.S. It's unclear how long the suspension of parcel shipments might last. Japan's Nikkei newspaper is reporting automakers Honda and Nissan

plan to call off their merger talks. A deal to combine the companies would have created the world's third largest automaker. Wall Street is coming off a positive day of trading. The Dow added 134 points to close at 44,556. I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington.