NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-10-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

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Donald Trump is starting his second term as president. What will his administration do and what policies will it promote? On the NPR Politics Podcast, we'll break down what the new administration does and explain why it matters. Listen to the NPR Politics Podcast every day. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. U.S. embassies are struggling to oversee humanitarian aid that the Trump administration is allowing to go through, thus, according to the inspector general of the embattled U.S. Agency for International

Development. More from MPR's Michelle Kelliman. When the Trump administration came to office, it put most foreign aid on hold, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has allowed for emergency humanitarian relief to continue. The trouble is, USAID staff around the world have been getting mixed signals, losing access to their emails and being put on administrative leave before a judge temporarily halted that. Now USAID's inspector general is reporting that the agency has limited ability to oversee what aid is going through.

There's food aid at risk of spoilage, according to the report, and a concern that there's not enough staff to vet partners in the Middle East to make sure U.S. taxpayer money is not benefiting terrorist groups. Michelle Killiman, NPR News, the State Department. The Trump administration is imposing 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. At least part of the initiative appears to be aimed at China, though the tariffs would also cover Canada and Mexico. Even as new tariffs were announced, China put in place tariffs of its own on US exports.

Trump administration has also reaffirmed plans to utilize so-called reciprocal tariffs, which means the US would impose import duties on products in cases in which another country's leveled duties on US goods. That is expected in coming days. The Trump administration is raising the pressure on local law enforcement to help the federal government with immigration enforcement. As NPR's Martin Costey explains, the response so far has followed party lines. Florida says its highway patrol will help identify and hold people who are wanted for deportation, and other Republican-led states are encouraging similar cooperation. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pausing grants to Democratic-run jurisdictions with

sanctuary laws. University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris predicts there will be some increase in cooperation by local law enforcement. The places you're going to see it, I would anticipate, would be sheriff's departments. That's because sheriffs are elected. And if you've got a constituency that favors this, you're going to look for ways to do what your constituents want. Courts have found that the federal government may not order local police to help, but the

Justice Department is now suing Chicago for, quote, impeding federal immigration enforcement. Martin Costi, NPR News. must social media platform X saying quote, no thank you, but we'll buy Twitter for 9.74 billion if you want. Not so subtle jab at the billionaire who purchased Twitter renamed X for $44 billion in 2022. This is NPR. Hawaii Supreme Court is ruling insurers can't bring their own legal actions

in connection with the catastrophic 2023 wildfire in Maui. Move allows a $4 billion settlement that had been under threat to move ahead. Other steps remain to finalize the deal between thousands of people who launched lawsuits and defendants, including Hawaiian Electric Company. Science is showing that mental health and well-being changes throughout the seasons, throughout the week, and even throughout the day, as MPR's Emily Ong reports on a new study from the journal BMJ Mental Health. Across one million observations from 50,000 adults in the UK, gathered by the University

College London, mental health and well-being tended to be better in the summer than in the winter. And on average, the group's mood was best in the morning. But if this makes you night owls shake your fists with rage, don't worry. Study author Fei-Fei Bu knows this model does not speak for everyone everywhere. What we focus on mostly in the study is a group trend. It's not a personal rulebook. But Bu says data like this can help mental health care providers adjust their treatments to match a patient's fluctuating needs across the day. For NPR News, I'm Emily Kwong.

The interest rates setting Federal Reserve will cut rates multiple times in the year ahead has apparently gone down the least economic indicators, lessening the chances of more rate cuts in the months ahead. That does give Fed officials some breathing room, though, in terms of instituting further cuts in the months ahead. That does give Fed officials some breathing room though in terms of instituting further cuts in the near term. Some economists say they anticipate perhaps just one more interest rate cut this year. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. Are you the greatest musician the world has never heard? Unsigned artists, now's your opportunity to play the tiny desk. Enter the 2025 Tiny Desk Contest,

our nationwide search for the next undiscovered star. The winner will play a Tiny Desk concert and a US tour. To learn more, visit npr.org slash tiny desk contest.