NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-07-2025 12PM EST

Episode Date: February 7, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The government's big jobs report is out today. U.S. employers continued hiring in January, but at a slower pace than the month before. NPR's Scott Horsley has more. U.S. employers added 143,000 jobs in January, a solid pace, but slower than the two previous months. Job gains for November and December were revised up by a total of 100,000 jobs. Hiring last month was concentrated in health care, retail and government jobs. Factories and construction companies added relatively

few workers in January, and temporary help services cut jobs. Average wages last month were up 4.1 percent from a year ago, which is likely more than enough to outpace inflation. The unemployment rate inched down to 4%. The Labor Department has also raised its estimate of the size of the workforce, taking into account higher immigration levels in the last two years than had previously been accounted for. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. Some big companies are literally erasing diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI. NPR's Maria Aspin discovered that General Motors, Pepsi, Disney, and others have scrubbed

some or all of those words from their annual reports to investors. Big companies have been backing away from their DEI programs for months. But a new NPR analysis found that many more are erasing the language of diversity without making a big announcement. At least a dozen big US companies are deleting or softening references to diversity, equity, and inclusion from their new annual reports to investors. That's compared to language they used just one year ago.

DEI was once a popular buzzword in corporate America, but companies are now under pressure from its critics. That pressure is mounting after President Trump issued executive orders ending DEI in the federal government and threatening some private companies with sanctions or civil investigations. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York. Today House Speaker Mike Johnson met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and praised the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This is what decisive leadership looks like.

And with President Trump back in the White House and Republican control of Congress, America will not turn its back on our national security priorities. Johnson did not address President Trump's comment Tuesday about a proposed U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip and relocation of the Palestinian people. New York officials have temporarily shut down live poultry markets in New York City and three suburban counties because of bird flu. Governor Kathy Hochul's office gave notice today for the markets to close for five days while they clean and disinfect. Hochul says the avian flu, the H5N1 virus, does not pose

an immediate threat to the public. Multiple states are dealing with an outbreak and that's factoring in the nationwide surge in prices for eggs and other food products. At last check on Wall Street, the Dow is down 324 points. This is NPR News. Utah lawmakers have approved a Republican-backed policy that bans collective bargaining for the state's public sector workers. That means unions would no longer be able to negotiate on behalf of groups of government-employed educators, police, and other public sector workers in Utah.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports hundreds of teachers, firefighters, and public transportation workers gathered at the state capitol to oppose HB 267. The state Senate's 16 to 13 vote last night was the final legislative hurdle for the bill, which is now headed to Republican Governor Spencer Cox for his signature. For some sports fans, this weekend it is Super Bowl Sunday, and for others it'll be Superb Owl Sunday. San Piers Joe Hernandez reports a humorous misspelling has spawned countless internet memes and a renewed interest in the nocturnal birds. Just move the beat and suddenly you've changed Super Bowl to Superb Owl.

The online joke was a category in the trivia show Jeopardy and even has its own subreddit with more than 400,000 members. With the big game just days away, the meme is taking off again. Tate Mason, director of the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, says that's because people have a deep connection to owls. The Super Bowl, I'll say, has been around since 1967. Owls have been on planet Earth for over 52 million years. Mason says people are attracted to owls for their large, forward-facing eyes and their sit-and-wait approach to ambushing prey. Part of what he says gives them a reputation for being wise.

Joe Hernandez, NPR News. It's NPR.