NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-07-2025 4PM EST

Episode Date: February 7, 2025

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Valentine's Day is on the horizon and NPR's All Songs Considered has you covered with a mix of lesser-known love songs for that special someone in your life. You don't make your wife playlists? Well, not anymore. I sealed the deal. Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, Mr. Robin. She is not. We're going to discuss this later. Hear new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday, wherever you get podcasts. new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday, wherever you get podcasts. Lyle from NPR News. I'm Lakshmi Singh. USAID signs are being covered up today as President Trump puts out a direct call to close the U.S. Agency for International Development. And BR's Windsor Johnston reports Trump's latest push to shutter the organization comes

hours before most of its employees are expected to be suspended with pay or laid off. In a post on social media, Trump wrote, close it down when referring to USAID. He went on to accuse the agency of spending money fraudulently and said there's nothing the quote radical left can do about it. But unions representing foreign service officers and employees at USAID have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for its efforts to dissolve it and freeze foreign assistance. The suit

argues that only Congress can dismantle the organization and cause the administration's actions unconstitutional and illegal. Windsor-Johnston, NPR News, Washington. The president says tech mogul Elon Musk is carrying out his directive. He's finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste. You see it with the USAID, but you're going to see it even more so with other agencies and other parts of government. At a news conference earlier today, Trump was asked about all the attention Musk's been getting.

Mr. President, do you have a reaction to the new Time magazine cover that has Elon Musk sitting behind your resolute desk? He said no, then quipped. Is Time magazine still in business? I didn't even know that. Trump holding the first of two joint news conferences today with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Trump says Japan's Nippon Steel would invest in U.S. steel rather than take it over, an

idea both he and former President Biden had opposed. Three times referring to Nippon as Nissan, Trump said he would meet with the company's leaders next week to mediate and arbitrate. He said the concept of an acquisition was psychologically not good. 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. Here's NPR's Kat Lonsdorf. 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. US stocks have ended the day lower. The Dow closed down 444 points or nearly 1% at 44,303. It's NPR. The first big jobs report for 2025 shows the U.S. economy gained 143,000 jobs in January. Solid but fewer than expected. Unemployment fell slightly to 4 percent. 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 virus H5N1 does not pose an immediate threat to the public. Multiple states are dealing with an outbreak which is also driving up prices for eggs and other food products. Academy Awards nominee Carla Sofia Gascon is still reeling from some resurfaced social media posts. NPR's Manda Lee Del Barco reports a criticism could affect her film Emilia Perez during award season. For her role as Mexican drug lord Emilia Perez, Carla Sofia Gascon had looked forward to possibly becoming the first trans actress to win an Oscar. That changed when a journalist uncovered Gascon's old social media posts in which she vilified

Islam and denigrated George Floyd, whose killing by police sparked racial justice protests. At first, Gascon tried to explain herself to CNN en Español. I've committed no crime, haven't hurt anyone, and I'm not racist," she said. Emilia Perez director Jacques Audiard called Gascon's statements self-destructive. Gascon's reps and Netflix haven't responded to NPR's request for comments, but the actress now says she's bowing out of campaigning for the Oscars. Mandelit Del Barco, NPR News. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.