NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-11-2025 8AM EST

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

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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 in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. President Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on all imports of aluminum and steel into the U.S.

NPR's Danielle Kurtz-Levin says Trump's new action could initially have a positive effect. In the nearest term, these should be good for American steel and aluminum companies because tariffs raise the prices of steel and aluminum and they protect against some foreign competition. And markets seem to think so. Yesterday, shares of Alcoa, which is an American aluminum company, and US Steel were both up. But that doesn't mean it's great for the rest of the economy. LESLIE KENDRICK That's because many economists say industries that use aluminum and steel,

like aircraft makers, automakers, companies that build bridges could get hurt. These metals are now more expensive and with these higher costs, people working in those industries may lose their jobs. Jordan's King Abdullah will visit the White House this morning and his meeting with President Trump is highly anticipated. Trump has demanded that Jordan and Egypt accept all Palestinians now living in Gaza, a suggestion both countries have rejected. Yesterday, Trump insisted that all hostages held in Gaza be returned to Israel by Saturday. Otherwise, he said, quote, all hell is going to break out.

Hamas has delayed this weekend's release of three hostages as stipulated in the ceasefire deal. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf has more. Trump made the comments in the Oval Office while speaking to reporters but didn't specify what that threat meant or how it would work. He called for the ceasefire to be canceled by noon Saturday if all hostages were not released by Hamas, but also said that Israel could, quote, override it. The fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which the U.S., including members from Trump's administration, helped broker, calls for Israeli hostages to be

released over the course of several weeks in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees including members from Trump's administration, helped broker, calls for Israeli hostages to be released over the course of several weeks in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees each time. Hamas has said it will delay the release of more hostages, quote, until further notice, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement. Israel has said it has placed its troops in Gaza on heightened alert.

Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. The first of three separate winter storms is pummeling parts of the U.S. this morning. NPR's Giles Snyder has more. The first storm is moving east out of Kansas where Governor Laura Kelly has declared a state of emergency. The storm will bring significant snow and ice accumulations to the mid-Atlantic. Winter storm warnings extend from Kentucky to southern New Jersey, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has also declared an emergency amid warnings of treacherous travel conditions and potential power outages. On the heels of the first storm, another

round of heavy snow from a second storm is expected from Kansas and Missouri into the Great Lakes and will be on the East Coast by Thursday morning. A third significant storm is expected to bring the threat of flooding to California, especially to areas devastated by last month's wildfires around Los Angeles. Trial Snider, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Senate is expected to hold a confirmation vote this week on President Trump's choice to be the director of national intelligence. Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard passed a Senate procedural vote yesterday along party lines.

She does not have significant experience in intelligence work, and she has been questioned about past statements that critics say support U.S. adversaries. Republican senators have praised Gabbard for saying she'll cut the size of the intelligence director's office. A group of investors led by billionaire Elon Musk is offering to buy chat GPT maker, OpenAI, for nearly $98 billion. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, it's an unsolicited offer. Musk sending an unsolicited bid to take over OpenAI comes as Musk's lawsuit against the company unfolds.

The billionaire-turned-White House insider has long said OpenAI betrayed its original mission as a non-profit research lab and instead prioritized profits and growth. It's a criticism shared by others in Silicon Valley, not just Musk, who was an early OpenAI funder. Tech critics on the left also argue OpenAI has deviated from its founding principles. The Musk's lawyers publicizing an offer to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion dollars prompted a swift rebuttal from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Altman wrote on X, no thank you, but we will buy Twitter for $9.7 billion if you want. That reply of course is not serious.

Bobbi Allen in PR News. Tonight's the big event in the annual Westminster Dog Show. The winners of all the best in their categories will compete against each other tonight. The winner will be crowned the best in show. I'm Korva Kuhlman, NPR News in Washington.