NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-10-2025 2AM EST

Episode Date: February 10, 2025

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Hey, it's Robin Hilton from NPR Music. Many years ago, I helped start the Tiny Desk Concert Series. And right now, NPR is looking for the next great, undiscovered musician to perform behind the famous desk. Think you've got what it takes? Submit a video of you playing an original song to the Tiny Desk Contest by February 10th. Find out more and see the official rules at npr.org slash tiny desk contest. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale

Willman. The trade war between the United States and China is heating up more. Chinese counter tariffs on a range of American goods are set to go into effect later today and as NPR's John Ruich reports, neither side looks ready to back down. The Chinese tariffs range from 10 to 15 percent and cover a variety of U.S. products including crude oil, liquefied natural gas, and farm machinery. The government announced them last week in response to a new 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods imported into the United States. President Trump says he imposed that tariff to try to pressure Beijing to do more to stop the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into America. China is a major source of the chemicals used to make the drug.

The Chinese government says cooperation with the United States in counter-narcotics has been good, but it says tariffs will only make matters worse. Trump, meanwhile, says he's set to announce fresh tariffs this week, including 25 percent on all steel and aluminum imports. John Ruech, NPR News, Beijing. Critics of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, say the cost-cutting unit is operating in secret. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, much of DOGE's work inside the federal government is happening behind closed doors.

Musk's DOGE staffers are diving into records at at least half a dozen federal agencies, proposing severe cuts or attempting to gut agencies down to the studs. And he's doing it all without holding press conferences and without detailing exactly what's being done. Multiple unions representing federal employees are calling the lack of Doge transparency alarming. Journalists have figured out that Doge seems to have 40 staffers, many loyalists of Musk, and others young and experienced software engineers. But who is at the top of the Doge pecking order under Musk remains unclear. The White House insists that Musk publicizing canceled federal contracts and ending leases of federal buildings shows Doge is

extremely transparent. Bobby Allen, NPR News. Federal funding has begun flowing to some Head Start programs that have had trouble accessing their payment systems since last week. As Wisconsin Public Radio's Anya Van Wachtendonk reports, these programs provide early childhood education to low-income families. Advocates reported that Head Start programs in 23 states couldn't access payment portals needed to cover costs and pay staff. The playing field in Madison, Wisconsin, uses Head Start dollars for some of its early childhood programming. Executive Director Abby Cruz says half of the funds have now arrived and the rest is

expected on Monday. I feel relieved for today, but I still feel really uncertain about the future. Providers say they started having trouble accessing funds last week around the time that the Trump administration ordered a freeze of federal grant funding, later blocked by a federal judge. The Department of Health and Human Services says that technical issues caused an outage, which also affected community health centers. For NPR News, I'm Anjubin Wagtandong in Madison. And I'm Dale Willman. You're listening to NPR News. Rescue crews in China are continuing to search for 28 people who were missing following a massive landslide on Saturday in Sichuan Province.

At least one person was killed when the slide buried at least 10 homes in a manufacturing building. Authorities say the landslide was caused by heavy rainfall. The slide left a debris field more than half a mile long. The Philadelphia Eagles won their Super Bowl rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs in dominating fashion with a 40-22 win on Sunday. It's the team's second Super Bowl championship.

Greg Eklund has more from New Orleans. After losing Super Bowl 57 two years ago in Phoenix, the Eagles rebounded for their first Super Bowl win since 2018. They opened up a 24-0 halftime lead, and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hertz says they didn't want to let up in the second half. You want to put a high value on finishing, having great focus and finishing, you know,

and think about the last time we were in this game, we were up 10 at halftime. Hertz was named the game's most valuable player. He finished with 221 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 72 yards and a score. For NPR News, I'm Greg Eklund in New Orleans. Dog Man, the DreamWorks animation movie, held on to first place at the box office this weekend. In its second week on the big screen, it brought in 13.7 million dollars in ticket sales at North American theaters.

Its total haul though dropped more than 60 percent from its debut weekend. The Valentine's Day themed slasher flick Heart Eyes debuted in second place with eight and a half million dollars while the action movie Love Hurts finished in third. I'm Dale Willman and you're listening to NPR News. Usher, Yo-Yo Ma, Boy Genius, Shaka Khan, I'm Dale Willman and you're listening to NPR News.