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

Episode Date: February 7, 2025

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President Trump is back in Washington, pursuing major policy changes on his own terms. We know from the past that means challenging precedent, busting norms, and pushing against the status quo. NPR is covering it all with Trump's Terms, a podcast where we curate stories about the 47th president with a focus on how he is upending the way Washington works. Listen to Trump's Terms from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Panama's president sounded frustrated today after the State Department posted on social media,

the U.S. will no longer have to pay fees for government ships going through the Panama Canal. As NPR's Michelle Kelman tells us, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is brushing off the public spat. At the end of a five-country trip that started in Panama, Secretary Rubio tried to set the record straight. He says the U.S. has a treaty obligation to protect the Panama Canal should it come under attack. That treaty obligation would have to be enforced by the armed forces of the United States,

particularly the U.S. Navy. I find it absurd that we would have to pay fees to transit a zone that we are obligated to protect in a time of conflict. But he says he understands that Panama has rules and laws that they have to follow, and he's confident this will be resolved. Rubio was speaking in the Dominican Republic where he talked about trade and migration and the conflict in Haiti. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News in Santa Domingo. At the National Prayer Breakfast this morning, President Trump announced the

creation of a task force to root out what he called anti-Christian bias in the federal government. NPR's Jason DeRose reports. During the Prayer Breakfast, Trump talked about a number of religion initiatives, including the formation of a Commission on Religious Liberty and a new task force on anti-Christian bias. The mission of this task force will be to immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government.

In recent weeks, meanwhile, the Trump administration has allowed immigration raids at houses of worship and cut off funding to faith-based refugee resettlement organizations. Trump surrogates have also attacked the work of faith-based charities, calling without evidence their funding illegal. Jason DeRose, NPR News. Many Los Angeles County residents who lost their homes in last month's deadly wildfires

are struggling to recover without homeowners' insurance. Member station KJZZ in Phoenix, Cameron Sanchez reports rising premiums and in some cases outright cancellations by insurers citing wildfire risk is a problem not just in California. Arizona resident Vivian Winneke panicked last year when her insurance rates suddenly shot up after 10 years of living in her home. It was all fine until August and then all of a sudden my renewal went up from $1450 a year to $4500. That's more than my property taxes. Winnocki says she was rejected by 22 insurance companies

before finding one that offered a rate she can afford. Even still, she's paying more than what she used to, and she's underinsured. If companies continue to raise rates or leave Arizona, she'll have to sell her house. The state's insurance department is studying the issue and is set to make recommendations by the end of the year. For NPR News, I'm Cameron Sanchez in Phoenix.

Stocks closed mixed today in somewhat choppy trading, the Dow down 125 points, the NASDAQ was up 99 points, the S&P rose 22 points today. You're listening to NPR. Northwest scientists were trying to better understand the volcanic landscape of the Cascade Mountain Range in Oregon. What they found instead was water, lots of it. Member Station Northwest Public broadcasting Lauren Patterson is more. Researchers have discovered a mountain aquifer in the Oregon Cascades. The volume of water is about three times the maximum

capacity of Lake Mead. Gordon Grant is a research hydrologist for the U.S. Forest Service. Gordon Grant, Research Hydrologist, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service, We have a lot of water and it is sensitive to a changing climate and we have to be thinking along these lines if we want to plan into the future. Grant says understanding how much water is in play in this large volcanic aquifer could influence decisions about how to manage the forests and water resources throughout the West. For NPR News, I'm Lauren Patterson in Orofino, Idaho.

Even as Congressional Democrats have been largely unable to prevent executive actions from the Trump administration, covering everything from immigration to federal layoffs to combining government entities, the courts have been more effective. Today, U.S. District Court Judge in Massachusetts pushed the pause button on a deadline for federal workers to decide whether to accept early resignation from their jobs, the judge extending today's deadline for workers to Monday. A second judge today also weighed on unblocking President Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally.

Crude oil futures prices settled lower after President Trump reiterated his pledge to raise U.S. oil production. Oil fell 42 cents a barrel today to settle at 70.61 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from NYU Langone. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.