NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-06-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: February 6, 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 Shae Stevens. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is laser-focused on reviving its military. At a Pentagon meeting with Israel's prime minister, Hegseth promised continued U.S. support for Israel's defense.

We're going to continue to grow our defense industrial base. We've supplied munitions that were previously not supplied that are useful in eradicating radical enemies and we are committed to continue to do so. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that when his nation defeats its enemies it is also defeating those against the U.S. Including the decision you just mentioned of supplying Israel with the much needed tools for our defense, we are a lot stronger than we've ever been. The Pentagon meeting came a day after President

Trump proposed a U.S. takeover of war-torn Gaza and the relocation of displaced Palestinians. Secretary Hexess says that the administration is looking at all options. The U.S. Senate has confirmed former Texas lawmaker Scott Turner as housing secretary. NPR's Jennifer Ludden has more. At his confirmation hearing last month, Turner said HUD is failing at its most basic mission, citing record-high homelessness and a lack of affordable housing. He offered few specifics to fix that, but said the agency needs to streamline programs. He also declined to say whether he'd object to major funding cuts for HUD.

That's something Trump tried repeatedly in his first term. Turner said the high cost of building materials is a big problem but did not weigh in on Trump's proposal to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Last week, the National Association of Home Builders asked for an exemption from such tariffs noting they would drive up home prices. Jennifer Lutten, NPR News, Washington. Senate Democrats are raising conflict of interest concerns about Trump aid and SpaceX owner Elon Musk.

As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, they're worried about the ethics of having Musk oversee the government efficiency office called DOGE. Senate Democrats have sent letters to Musk's companies looking to see if the billionaire will use his position for financial gain. The White House says Musk is a special government employee, a designation that does come with laws against self-dealing. But Democrats say Musk needs to be questioned. Democrats in the House tried to subpoena Musk, but Republicans blocked it.

Letters to Musk's corporations follow this. Since leading the entity known as DOGE, Musk's team has gained access to the Treasury Department and put nearly all of the staff of the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave. The White House says if Musk's cost-cutting efforts create a conflict between government and his work, Musk will excuse himself. Bobbi Allen, NPR News. The CIA is offering buyouts to employees who agree to resign. A spokesman declined to say how many workers received the offer.

The proposal is said to include unspecified national security exceptions. This is NPR News. A new type of bird flu has been found in dairy cattle in Nevada. The Agriculture Department says it is the second time that H5N1 virus has been transferred from birds to cows. Some experts say it also raises questions about the difficulty of controlling infections in animals and the people working around them. The H5N1 outbreak

prompted farmers to slaughter thousands of chickens causing egg shortages and higher prices. In Italy members of Parliament are urging the Prime Minister to disclose whether that government was behind a spyware attack against activists and journalists. NPR's Ruth Sherlock has the latest. Luca Casarini, the Italian co-founder of a charity that performs migrant rescues at sea, says he received a warning on Metta's WhatsApp chat platform that his device had been infiltrated. Recently, Metta publicly accused the surveillance company Paragon Solutions of targeting roughly 90 of its users. Among those who say they were hacked is also an Italian investigative journalist who recently

reported on fascists in the youth wing of the Italian prime minister's party, and a well-known Libyan activist who's criticized Italy's complicity with Libyan authorities to stop migrants coming to Europe. Now Italian opposition politicians are demanding to know whether Prime Minister Giorgio Maloney's government was involved in ordering the hack. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Rome. US futures are flat in after hours trading on Wall Street following slight gains on Wednesday. On Asia-Pacific marks, shares are mostly higher. This is NPR News.

It's a new year and according to Pew, 79% of resolutions are about one thing, health. But there are so many fads around how to keep ourselves healthy. On It's Been A Minute, I'm helping you understand why some of today's biggest wellness trends are, well, trending. Like why is there protein in everything? Join me as we uncover what's healthy and what's not on the It's Been A Minute podcast from NPR.