NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-13-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: February 13, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. President Trump today signed a memo calling for reciprocal tariffs on major U.S. trading partners, including longtime allies. The exact tariffs, countries, and products will be determined in the coming weeks by Trump administration officials, including his Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick and Jameson Greer, his global trade representative. Officials say they will have recommendations by April 1st. Trump says one way to avoid the tariffs is to move manufacturing to the U.S.

If you build here, you have no tariffs whatsoever. And I think that's what's going to happen. I think our country is going to be flooded with jobs. And he says he doesn't expect to offer exemptions or waives or something he has offered in the past. Tariffs are taxes paid by U.S. companies that import goods and that could result in price hikes for U.S. consumers. Trump says prices could rise in the short term, but he says he thinks they will ultimately

go down. The acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Danielle Sassoon, has resigned. The move comes three days after the Justice Department ordered her to drop the criminal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. And Piers Ryan Lucas reports. Danielle Sassoon was appointed last month as acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, arguably the country's most prestigious. But now a spokesperson for the office says Sassoon has quit. Her resignation comes just days after the Trump Justice Department leadership ordered her to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Sassoon has quit. Her resignation comes just days after the Trump Justice Department leadership

ordered her to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. The DOJ leadership said in a memo that it was directing the case be dropped but had not assessed the strength of the evidence. Instead, it said the charges were brought too close to the city's mayoral election and that they interfered with Adams' ability to help the Trump administration with immigration enforcement. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. Hosting Investigators are looking into why a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier on deployment near Egypt collided with a freighter ship. Steve Walsh from member station WHRO in Norfolk has more.

Steve Walsh The collision happened just before midnight local time Wednesday, according to a U.S. Navy statement. The aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman collided with a merchant vessel flagged to Panama near the port of Syed, Egypt, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. No word on why. A spokesperson for the Navy's Sixth Fleet says there are no reports of flooding or injuries, and the Truman's nuclear propulsion plants are unaffected and in safe and stable

condition. The Truman left the U.S. in September. Its strike group has been part of a mission to protect international shipping in the Red Sea. For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh in Norfolk, Virginia. Wall Street higher by the closing bell, the Dow up 342 points, the Nasdaq up 295 points, that's up one and a half percent, the S&P 500 up 63. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

Most birdwatchers are over 40 years old, but younger people are increasingly taking up the hobby. Carrie Sheridan from Member Station WUSF reports the trend got its start during the pandemic when kids started spending more time outdoors. According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Survey, nearly a decade ago, only about 11 percent of teenagers said they watched wildlife away from home. And now it's up around 30%.

That's Maya Thompson. She heads youth programs at the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. Sophia Hackman is 15 and recently led an owl walk for the Sarasota chapter of the Florida Young Birders Club. You can never stop learning about new birds. The American Birding Association says young people's interest in birding is on the rise nationwide. For NPR News, I'm Carrie Sheridan in Sarasota. In Los Angeles, prosecutors are giving closing arguments today in the trial of rapper A$AP Rocky,

who was accused of two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm. Prosecutors say he fired at a former friend on a Hollywood street corner in 2021. The defense, though, says he only shot blanks from a prop gun that he carried for security. If convicted, the hip-hop star could get up to 24 years in prison. The Grammy-nominated rapper, fashion maven, and actor is the longtime partner of singing superstar Rihanna, with whom he has two young sons that she brought to court for the first time today. I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.