NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-06-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: February 6, 2025

NPR News: 02-06-2025 4AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Technologist Paul Garcia is using AI to create photos of people's most precious memories. How her mother was dressed, the haircut that she remembered. We generated tens of images and then she saw two images that was like, that was it. Ideas about the future of memory. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. The White House is walking back President Trump's suggestion that the United States should take over, clean up, and rebuild war-torn Gaza. Here is press secretary Caroline Levitt. 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. Trump prompted outrage in the Arab and Muslim world by suggesting that displaced Palestinians be relocated to Jordan, Egypt or elsewhere. Left-leaning groups that criticized President Biden and Vice President Harris last year on the Israel-Hamas war are weighing in on President Trump's Gaza proposal. NPR's Elena Moore has more.

In a statement from the Abandon Harris movement, leaders both called Trump's comments grotesque and stood by their criticism of Democrats, saying they refused to equate, quote, Trump's inflammatory rhetoric with the Biden-Harris administration's concrete actions. They called the election a, quote, choice between two monstrous evils. The Muslim advocacy group Care Action also characterized Trump's comments as inhumane and dangerously irresponsible. The group promoted third-party candidates over Harris last fall. Trump's comments come after he courted Muslim voters in the election, and exit polling indicates Democrats lost serious ground with this group.

Elena Moore, NPR News. IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax filing season will not be allowed to take the government's buyout offer. Those workers were told in a letter issued Wednesday that they must wait until May 15th at the earliest. Today is the deadline for most other civilian employees considering the buyout. Pam Bondi has been sworn in as U.S. Attorney General. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports on the swearing-in ceremony held Wednesday at the White House.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath of office for Bondi, who had her mother and husband by her side. Bondi then thanked President Trump for entrusting her to lead the Justice Department. The ceremony comes less than 24 hours after the Senate voted to confirm Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and Trump loyalist. She takes over at a turbulent time for the Justice Department.

The Trump administration has made sweeping personnel moves there, pushing out senior career officials at the department and the FBI, in many cases after questioning their loyalty and ability to faithfully implement Trump's agenda. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, at the Justice Department. A federal judge in Maryland has blocked President Trump's executive order

to end birthright citizenship. The preliminary injunction expands a temporary ruling that was issued two weeks ago. The White House is expected to file an appeal. Under the 14th method to the U.S. Constitution, anyone who is born on U.S. soil is by birthright an American citizen. You're listening to NPR News. 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 meetings with President Trump and members of Congress Wednesday in Washington. Private forecaster AccuWeather estimates that the damage from the recent LA area fires will top $250 billion. Federal health officials have found a new strain of bird flu circulating in dairy cows. The Agriculture Department made the announcement based on samples collected from cattle in Nevada. More from NPR's Will Stone. This variant of H5N1 bird flu has been circulating in wild birds. Finding it now in dairy cattle indicates the virus has spilled over yet again from wild

birds into cattle. It's not clear how long it's been circulating there, but it opens up new and concerning questions. Michael Warby at the University of Arizona says the variant may be different enough from the previous one that pre-existing immunity in cattle will not be protective. And this variant is the same one that led to severe disease in a Canadian teenager and a death in Louisiana.

We don't know if this new variant, if for every person who gets infected with this one, maybe more will land in the hospital. Warby says it will take time for scientists to figure all of this out. Will Stone, NPR News. The U.S., Japan and the Philippines completed a flurry of joint maritime drills and planned more this week, prompting complaints from China. Beijing has accused the Philippines of colluding with others in efforts to destabilize the region.

You're listening to NPR News. Hey, it's Robin Hilton from NPR News.