NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-11-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

NPR News: 02-11-2025 1PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At the Super Bowl halftime show, Kendrick Lamar indeed performed his smash diss track Not Like Us and brought out Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams, and SZA. We're recapping the Super Bowl, including why we saw so many celebrities in commercials this year. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump is hosting Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House today. They're currently addressing reporters.

Their meeting taking place against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire and hostages for prisoners' agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. President Trump is raising tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports on how the levy will hit U.S. importers. Danielle Kurtzleben American importers will now be paying a 25% tax on steel and aluminum. And that makes these tariffs a lot like some you might remember him imposing during his first term, except this time the aluminum rate is higher. It was 10%

back then. In doing this, the administration has stressed they're trying to use these tariffs to stick it to China, which is the world's biggest steel exporter. Now, the U.S. doesn't actually get much steel or aluminum directly from China, but the White House argues that Chinese steel makes it into the U.S. by being sold through other countries. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reporting. a federal judge has paused immediate cuts that the Trump administration ordered for the National Institutes of Health. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports cancer researchers and patients were concerned about the effects

of the cuts on medical research. The funding cuts would have affected the funds that institutions like universities and cancer centers receive to cover the cost of providing laboratories, equipment, and data security, for example. Last week, the NIH sought to cut that funding by about 75 percent at many institutions. That prompted chaos in the research community and concern that clinical trials and various supports for cancer patients would have to stop in order to meet the sudden change. Proponents of the cut say the funding rates for overhead costs

of research are too high and that private donors should step in. Yukinoguchi, NPR News. Differences in country stances on artificial intelligence have emerged during a two-day AI summit in Paris. Global leaders, tech industry chiefs, and policymakers are attending. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports Vice President J.D. Vance addressed the gathering and warned against excessive regulation. Vance targeted both rival China and European allies. He warned against striking artificial intelligence deals with authoritarian regimes and called it most troubling when U.S. big tech companies are hindered by erroneous international rules. He was referring to EU laws, policing,

social media platforms for hate speech and misinformation. AI's potential dangers have loomed over the summit. 61 countries signed a final declaration committing to the development of an open, inclusive and ethical AI. The US and UK did not sign. Eleanor Beardsley in NPR News, Paris. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. US stocks are trading lower this hour. The

Nasdaq is down 89 points or nearly half a percent. The Dow is down 15 points and the S&P is off 12. From Washington, this is NPR News. The Federal Aviation Administration has reopened two runways at the Reagan National Airport. They were closed after the January 29th midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet that was attempting to land at DCA. All 67 people aboard both aircraft died in the nighttime collision that happened at approximately 300 feet. Restrictions on helicopter traffic around DCA remain in effect as the National Transportation Safety Board investigation continues.

President Trump has signed an executive order on plastic straws. NPR's Jacob Fentzen tells us it rolls back a plan by former President Biden to cut down plastic pollution. Trump says we're going quote back to plastic. On Truth Social, he complained about paper straws that disgustingly dissolve in your mouth. He says the government will no longer buy paper straws or provide them in federal buildings. Activist Jackie Nunez is founder of the last plastic straw campaign. She says Trump isn't the first to hate on biodegradable paper straws, but she welcomes the renewed spotlight on single-use plastics.

You know, we use plastic straws. We're literally drinking in plastic particles and chemicals. Biden's policy would have phased out the purchasing of single-use plastics by the federal government starting in 2027. Jacob Fenston, NPR News. US stocks trading lower. The Nasdaq down now 86 points. The S&P has fallen 12 points and the Dow is down 18. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.