NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-09-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: February 10, 2025

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This is Ira Glass with This American Life, each week on our show. We choose a theme, tell different stories on that theme. All right, I'm just going to stop right there. You're listening to an NPR podcast, chances are you know our show. So instead, I'm going to tell you we've just been on a run of really good shows lately. Some big epic emotional stories, some weird funny stuff too. with us, this American life. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency unit are hitting their first legal roadblocks. Yesterday, a federal judge temporarily barred Musk's team from accessing Treasury Department

records, including Social Security numbers. As NPR's Luke Garrett reports, Musk is now calling for the judge's impeachment. The tech magnet turned special government employee is calling a New York federal judge corrupt for getting in his way. Musk says the Treasury Department agreed to let Doge access their taxpayer data to look out for waste and fraud. The federal judge temporarily blocked the sharing agreement, saying it risks, quote, irreparable harm. In a social media post shared by Musk, Vice President JD Vance said, quote, judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power, end quote. The Constitution

establishes three separate but co-equal branches of government, the legislative, executive, and judicial. This judicial branch is responsible for deciding whether actions taken by people or the government are legal. A hearing on Doge's access to Treasury data is set for this Friday. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. Egypt says it will host an emergency summit of Arab leaders later this month. This amid alarm in the region over President Trump's proposals regarding the future of Gaza. NPR's Jerome Sokolovsky has more. A statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry says the summit is being called in response to a

Palestinian request. It says the leaders will gather on February 27th to discuss, quote, the new and dangerous developments in the Palestinian issue. Arab states have rejected Trump's recent comments about relocating Gaza's Palestinian residents and creating a Riviera of the Middle East there. Several countries are also condemning the suggestion by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Saudi Arabia has enough land for a Palestinian state. Netanyahu appeared to be joking in response to a slip by an Israeli TV interviewer, but sensitivities are running high in the region. Jerome Sokolowski, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

A large swath of the northern U.S. woke up to snow and ice this morning. As NPR's Joe Hernandez reports, a major winter storm swept through the region this weekend, and more winter weather is coming. The storm passed through the upper Midwest, the Great Lakes region, and then the Northeast. Eight inches of snow fell in areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Parts of northern New York, Vermont, and Maine saw as much as a foot.

Boston and New York City both had several inches of snow too, and in Philadelphia, overnight freezing rain left streets and sidewalks slippery Sunday morning. Though the storm was tapering off on Sunday, forecasters say more winter weather is on the way early this week for parts of the central U.S. and East Coast. Joe Hernandez, NPR News. U.S. futures contracts are trading higher this evening. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

A 300-year-old Stradivarius violin has sold at auction for more than $11 million. As Empire's James Dubeck reports, the high price tag shows the enduring appeal of the instruments made by the legendary Italian craftsman. Antonio Stradivari is often considered the world's greatest violin maker. He built hundreds of instruments in Cremona, Italy in the late 1600s and early 1700s. About 600 of his violins survive today. Musicians say the old instruments have a special brilliance. They often sell for millions. Sotheby's Auction House had said this violin from 1714 could break a record. Sold. $10 million.

But on Friday, it fell short. The final price tag with auction house fees was $11.3 million. Another Stradivari violin holds the record for the most expensive musical instrument sold at auction. It sold for nearly $16 million in 2011. James Dubeck, NPR News. New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered a temporary closure of live poultry markets after bird flu was found in the outer boroughs of New York City. Hochul's order on Friday directed the markets to close through February 14th as the facilities undergo a complete disinfection

process. The order calls for markets that have not tested positive for bird flu to sell all inventory and shut down for five days after the cleaning process. Meanwhile, the Wildlife Conservation Society says three ducks died at the Queen's Zoo because of bird flu. I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things and other currencies, sending to NPR News from Washington.