NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-07-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: February 8, 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 Term terms from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from placing thousands of people working at the U.S. Agency for International Development on administrative leave.

And Piers Fatmatanis has more. Judge Carl Nichols said he would issue a very limited temporary restraining order before midnight tonight, preventing the government from putting 2,200 federal workers on administrative leave. He would also pause the accelerated removal of agency employees who are posted overseas. Since the inauguration, the Trump administration has taken steps at dizzying speed aimed at dismantling the aid agency, including putting nearly all of the more than 10,000 employees on leave by midnight tonight. On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved fewer than 300 agency staff to continue

working. Today, workers were seen taking down the USAID flag and signage from the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Fatma Tanis, NPR News. President Trump said today he's revoking his predecessor Joe Biden's security clearances. As NPR's Franco Ordonius reports, allowing presidents to retain their clearances after leaving office used to be a customary courtesy, but Biden changed all that. In a post on his social media website, Trump says there's no need for Biden to receive

classified information. He writes, quote, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden's security clearances and stopping his daily intelligence briefings. He added in capital letters, Joe, you're fired. Trump blamed Biden for setting such precedent, pointing out that in 2021 Biden revoked his security clearances the first time a former president's security clearances were revoked. Trump added that Biden could quote, not be trusted with sensitive information and cited a special counsel report that described Biden last year as a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory. A Biden spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.

Franco Ordonez and PR News West Palm Beach. Hamas has confirmed that three Israeli hostages are to be returned tomorrow after being held in Gaza for 16 months. In exchange, dozens of Palestinian prisoners and detainees should be released from Israeli jails. MPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports from Tel Aviv. Earlier in the day, Hamas accused Israel of reneging on the terms of the ceasefire agreement, saying that Israel had not allowed certain humanitarian aid, like shelters, debris removal

equipment and fuel, into Gaza, aid which Hamas says is necessary for reconstruction efforts. Israel's military released a statement saying that it had deployed troops at several points within Gaza and were, quote, ready in defense. This weekend's hostage for prisoner exchange is the first after President Trump floated plans to have the US take over Gaza and relocate the nearly 2 million Palestinians there elsewhere. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Stocks finished the week down on Friday the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 444 points. You're listening to NPR News.

The Trump administration has begun to house some people arrested in its immigration crackdown in federal prisons. The Bureau of Prisons has declined to say how many immigration detainees it's accepted so far. It's a return to a detention strategy during Trump's first term in office that drew allegations of mistreatment. The renowned conductor and pianist Daniel Barenbaum announced this week that he has Parkinson's disease. He had cut back on his engagements in recent

years because of health issues, but he said he plans to continue conducting, as Jeff London reports. The Argentine-born Jewish conductor and former piano prodigy resigned from his post at the Berlin State Opera in 2023, but is still committed to performing with the ensemble he co-founded with the late Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said in 1999, the West Eastern Divan Orchestra. Barron Boym said the orchestra, featuring Arab and Israeli musicians, and its school, are his most important responsibility

The 82 year old continues to teach at the musical academy He established in Berlin and plans to conduct the orchestra on tour in August health permitting for NPR news I'm Jeff London in New York The NFL says the first regular season game this fall will be held in Dublin, Ireland. The Pittsburgh Steelers have already been named as one of the teams for the game. The other team will be announced this spring. The decision was announced just two days before the Super Bowl. Earlier this week, the league announced that a game in 2026 will be played in Australia.

I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. Support for NPR News.