NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-06-2025 9AM EST

Episode Date: February 6, 2025

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Extreme weather disasters like wildfires and floods can devastate communities. On the Sunday story from Up First, we ask, are there places that just aren't safe to live anymore? People are going to die. They will be me and my neighbors, and I don't want that to happen. How we respond to disasters in an era of climate insecurity. Listen now on the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Amid President Trump's idea to uproot all Palestinians in Gaza while the area is rebuilt, Israel is now telling the military to take steps to relocate Palestinians from the territory that's been destroyed by Israeli bombardments. And Piers Greg Myrie has more on what people in Gaza want.

Palestinians in general and the refugees in particular harbor this deep fear of being displaced ever since the trauma of 1948, which they call the Nakba or the catastrophe. And Trump's comments really struck that chord. It's just hard to see how you'd ever get past such a core emotional issue. We just seen more than 15 months of a devastating war in Gaza, and very few Palestinians left during that time.

And here's Greg Myrie reporting. Critics go slam Trump's plan, saying it would amount to the forced displacement of people, which is a crime under international law. A large crowd gathered yesterday outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington protesting Elon Musk's efforts to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development. And here's Luke Garrett has more. Crowds chanted against tech billionaire turned special government employee Elon Musk, who

has called USAID a, quote, ball of worms. Musk has worked to dismantle the international aid agency with the support of President Donald Trump. Many at the rally were current USAID or non-profit workers, but didn't want to give their names publicly, fearing that they'd be targeted by the Trump administration. This is my career. I've worked in the sector for seven years, and I'm not telling many people yet, but my first child is due in September and I want to be able to feed my family.

USAID has announced that nearly all employees are being placed on administrative leave and that overseas personnel are directed to return within 30 days. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. Nearly 350,000 Venezuelans are losing legal protections, allowing them to remain temporarily in the U.S. under a rule posted today by the Trump administration. And here's Greg Allen has more. Large numbers of Venezuelans migrated to Florida in recent decades, fleeing the authoritarian regimes of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro. Ending the program means that in two months hundreds of thousands of them will face possible deportation. The news has sparked an

outcry among Venezuelan Americans, many of whom supported Trump for president. Republican county commissioners in Miami-Dade are among those calling on the president to reverse his decision. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he counts Venezuelan Americans among his supporters, but he's backing Trump. So I think President Trump is getting the law right. He's going to get control over who is in this country. DeSantis says he believes the Biden administration abused TPS in a way that encouraged more Venezuelans to come to the U.S. Greg Allen, NPR News Miami. This is NPR News. NPR News Miami. This is NPR News. London's famous Grenfell Tower is slated to be demolished later this year.

As NPR's Lauren Frayer reports from London, it's a public housing complex that was gutted by a fire in 2017, killing 72 people. It was the deadliest fire on British soil since World War II, and it exposed painful inequalities between Grenfell Tower's lower-income, mostly immigrant residents and the posh Kensington and Chelsea borough surrounding it. Last year, investigators concluded the 72 deaths from the fire could have been avoided if builders followed safety standards, if regulators had enforced them, and if firefighters had better equipment. The 24-story tower is now draped in white with a banner that reads, Grenfell forever in our hearts.

Survivors and families of those killed say they've been told the tower will be demolished starting this summer. Many are angry though and want it preserved as a memorial. Lauren Freyer and PR News London. Police in Pennsylvania are still trying to crack the mystery of who stole some 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer. It happened four days ago and police say no tips have come in so far. They're now looking at surveillance video and asking anyone with knowledge of the egg theft to come forward. The eggs are worth around $40,000 and that makes the crime a

felony. Police aren't sure if this heist is connected to the rising price of eggs because of the bird flu. He was futures contracts are trading higher at this hour. Dow futures are up about one tenth of a percent. NASDAQ futures are ahead by a fraction. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington. Our long national nightmare is over. NPR News in Washington.