NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-07-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: February 7, 2025

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Usher, Yo-Yo Ma, Boy Genius, Shaka Khan, Billie Eilish, Weird Al, one thing all these big stars have in common, they've all played behind NPR's Tiny Desk. And if you enter NPR's Tiny Desk Contest between now and February 10th, you could be next. Unsigned musicians can find out more and see the official rules at npr.org slash tiny desk contest. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. House Republicans are racing to unveil a new framework for a budget plan as early as today. NPR's Claudia Grisales reports it's part of a larger plan by President Trump to install

sweeping legislation that will address the border, taxes, and more. House Republican leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, met at the White House for about five hours on Thursday in hopes of reaching a final plan. President Trump was part of the first hour of the meeting urging the group to get it done. Senate leaders are also racing to put together their own proposal to be unveiled during a meeting with Trump in Florida this weekend. The spending plan is expected to include provisions to fund new projects along the U.S.-Mexico border, extend tax breaks approved during Trump's first term, as well as other campaign promises.

Claudia Grisales, NPR News. Unions representing federal workers are suing to prevent the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development. As NPR's Shannon Bond reports, the unions are accusing the Trump administration of creating a global humanitarian crisis. The lawsuit comes as USAID is preparing to put the majority of its staff on leave and terminate most of its contractors starting Friday. Fewer than 300 staffers deemed essential are set to continue working, according to internal emails seen by NPR. Hundreds of contractors have already

been laid off or furloughed. The lawsuit also challenges the White House's freeze on foreign aid, which it says is having dire consequences to health and safety around the world. It argues only Congress has the right to shut down the agency, not the president. Shannon Bond, NPR News. Stocks have been switching from positive to negative territory this morning, as the Labor Department reported a modest slowdown in hiring last month. And Pierre Scott Horsley has more. U.S. employers added 143,000 jobs in January. That's a slowdown from the two previous months.

Revised figures show hiring in November and December was even stronger than initially reported. Many of the jobs added last month were in retail, health care and government. Construction and manufacturing showed relatively few job gains. The Labor Department says neither the Los Angeles wildfires nor severe winter weather elsewhere appear to have much effect on the job market. Average wages in January were up 4.1 percent from a year ago. Wages have been rising faster than prices now for the better part of two years. The unemployment rate dipped last month to a low 4 percent Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

After opening higher, the Dow at one point was open up 90 points this morning. It's now trading lower down 30 points. The Nasdaq is down 94. The S&P 500 also trading lower this morning. It's down 9 points at last check. You're listening to NPR News. In Alaska, authorities are searching part of the state's western coast for a bearing air flight that went missing with 10 people on board. Officials say the Cessna Caravan went missing yesterday afternoon on its way from Unalakleet to Nome over the Norton Sound south of the Arctic Circle. Ground crews are now searching the icy coastline as the known volunteer fire department says the US Coast Guard sent a C-130 plane to help in the search effort. The American Gaming Association says nearly one and a

half billion dollars in legal bets are expected to be placed during Sunday's Super Bowl game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. MPW's Windsor Johnstone reports with the game just days away, health experts are warning about the dangers and the problems of gambling. Danielle Kotsias is a sports gambling counselor from Oak Park, Michigan. He says the use of betting on smartphones and iPads makes it easier for people to get hooked. They had this constant dopamine on tap on their phones where they

could just tap into it whenever they wanted to. I'm all for having a kind of mindful regimen in general to how you use your phone, you know, putting your phone in the drawer or leaving it in the car at certain points in the day just to kind of manage those urges.

A survey by Lending Tree shows more than four intense Super Bowl watchers say they plan to bet 100 bucks or more on Sunday's game. The study also showed that men are more than twice as likely as women to place wagers. Windsor-Johnston NPR News. On Wall Street, the Dow is down 77 points, NASDAQ down 127. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News.

The indicator for plenty of money is diving into the world of batteries. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News.