NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-08-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: February 8, 2025

NPR News: 02-08-2025 12AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for NPR and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. President Donald Trump reaffirmed today that he supports SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's remaking of the federal government through what the administration is calling DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports. Speaking at a press conference, Trump was unclear about his own role in DOJ's actions but seemed to say he had given Musk wide rein. I think everything's

fertile, you know, we're a government. We have to be open and as an open government, I don't know, I guess you could say maybe some high intelligence or something and I'll do that myself if I have to. He added several times that he wants Doge to target the Education Department and the military for cuts. Trump did say he doesn't plan on having Musk make changes to Social Security or Medicare, but added that the administration would be looking for fraud in those programs.

Danielle Kurtzleiman in PR News, The White House. The American military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is being prepared to receive what could be thousands of migrants. The White House says it will send what it calls illegal criminals to the base. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited the base on Friday. I'm down here at Guantanamo Bay checking out some of the operations that we're standing up to house the worst of the worst and illegal criminals that are in the United States of America.

They won't be there for long. Two flights of detainees have already been sent to the base this week. The Alaska state legislature is urging President Trump to reverse his decision to rename North America's tallest peak as Mount McKinley. As Alaska Public Media's Eric Stone reports, the president's move to rename Denali has sparked an uproar in the Senate. Trump issued the order renaming Denali after President William McKinley

on his first day back in office, saying McKinley was a quote, natural businessman, who quote, made our country very rich through tariffs. State Senator Scott Kawasaki, a Fairbanks Democrat, says the name Denali has deep roots in Alaska's history and indigenous culture. Alaskans and travelers from around the world have known it to be Denali has deep roots in Alaska's history and indigenous culture. Alaskans and travelers from around the world have known it to be Denali. The Athabaskan people have lived in the interior for thousands of years and for thousands of

years have embraced Denali as its proper name. Alaska renamed the landmark Denali in 1975 and formally requested the federal government do the same. The Obama administration did so in 2015 over objections from the delegation in McKinley's home state of Ohio. The resolution opposing the renaming passed with bipartisan support, including from many conservative Republicans.

For NPR News, I'm Eric Stone in Juneau, Alaska. Authorities in Alaska say all 10 people on board a small commuter plane that crashed in the western part of the state on Thursday have been found dead. A Coast Guard helicopter spotted the wrecked plane on sea ice and two rescue swimmers investigated the crash site. The Bering Air Cessna Citation was carrying nine passengers when it crashed on Thursday.

The airline provides services to 32 communities in western Alaska. Stocks were down on Friday, the NASDAQ down 268 points, the S&P 500 finished down by 57 points. You're listening to NPR News. The Palestinian militant group Hamas is preparing to hand over three Israeli hostages on Saturday. In return, some 183 Palestinian detainees and prisoners will also be released. It's the latest round of exchanges taking place under the ceasefire that took effect last month. Actor Tony Roberts, who appeared at six Woody Allen films, died on Friday in his home in New York from lung cancer. He was 85 years old. Roberts also starred on Broadway in two dozen

roles. Jeff London has this remembrance. Born in Manhattan, Roberts studied acting at Northwestern University and with American theater icon Lee Strasburg. Roberts began his career on Broadway in 1961 and made a name for himself in musicals, comedies, and dramas. When he appeared in Woody Allen's Played Against Sam onstage in 1969, a great partnership was forged. Tall and affable, Roberts played the sidekick to Alan's schlubby character, repeating the role in the film and playing similar parts in several other Alan movies, most notably Annie Hall.

Max, you see conspiracies and everything. Roberts appeared in many other films, including Serpico, and was last on Broadway in 2009. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. 19 Democratic State Attorneys General have sued President Donald Trump to stop Elon Musk's entity known as the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data. That data could include Social Security numbers or bank account information. The suit claims the access is in violation of federal law.

I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.