NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-06-2025 1PM 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. Lyle from NPR News. I'm Lakshmi Singh. More than two million federal workers are facing a midnight deadline to decide whether to take the Trump administration's offer to quit now but get pay and benefits through the end of September. Otherwise, officials

say their jobs are not guaranteed. The pay timeline is questionable given federal agencies are currently only funded through mid-March. Meanwhile, some staffers at a cybersecurity agency created during the first Trump administration are being offered a deferred resignation offer. NPR's Jenna McLaughlin reports it's the latest move by President Trump and the team he put in place to try to shrink the federal government. Staffers at the Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

were initially exempt from a broad effort by the Trump administration to push federal employees to accept deferred resignation offers. However, according to sources who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity, CISA employees have now received word they may apply for the program, though funding is contingent

on congressional appropriations beyond March. The move is only adding to growing fears about the loss of technical expertise in the federal government at a time when nation-state hackers from Russia, China, and others are infiltrating sensitive systems worldwide. Jenna McLaughlin, NPR News. Satellite photos show more than 100 tents have been erected at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. NPR's Jeff Brumfield says the tents may eventually house thousands of migrants deported from the U.S.

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. One person who faces the risk of deportation back to Japan is Ipe Mizuhara. The former interpreter for Major League Baseball star Shohei Otani is being sentenced today in Southern California for fraud. Here's Steve Futterman. It seems almost certain that Ipe Mizuhara will spend some time behind bars. Prosecutors are asking for a 57-month sentence. Defense attorneys are asking for just 18 months. It's estimated

that the former interpreter stole around $17 million from Otani to cover massive gambling losses. Prosecutors have included in court documents a recording of Mizohara calling the bank, pretending to be Otani. That's Steve Futterman reporting. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 100 points at 44,765. The S&P was up 16 points and the NASDAQ gained 64 points. You're listening to NPR News. Last summer, Britain became the first country in Europe to legalize lab-grown meat in pet

food and now it's on the shelves. NPR's Lauren Frayer reports from London. The manufacturer is called Meatly and its product is called Chick Bites, but it contains neither meat nor chicken. It's made from a single sample of cells from one chicken egg, then cultivated in a lab and combined with plant-based ingredients. The London company behind it calls it a tasty, low-carbon, healthy protein source, at least for dogs.

Lab-grown meat is seen as more ethical and sustainable. But a recent poll showed only about a third of Britons would eat it themselves, while nearly half of them would feed it to their pets. Another Austrian-American company is developing lab-grown mouse meat for cats and dogs. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, London. People shopping for homes are finding lower mortgage rates this week in the U.S. A finance giant Freddie Mac reports the average fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage fell to 6.89%, marking a third straight week of declines. Meanwhile, the rate on 15-year loans, which are popular with homeowners seeking a refinance,

was just over 6% this week. Freddie Mac's website says, quote, mortgage rates have been stable over the last month and incoming data suggests the economy remains on firm footing footing even though rates are higher compared to last year. The last two weeks of purchase applications are modestly above what was seen a year ago indicating some latent demand in the market. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.