NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-26-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

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Hey, it's Amartines. I work on a news show. And yeah, the news can feel like a lot on any given day. But you just can't ignore las noticias when important world-changing events are happening. So that is where the Up First podcast comes in. Every single morning in under 15 minutes, we take the news and boil it down to three essential stories so you can keep up without feeling stressed out. Listen to the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Trump suggested today his proposed tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods would be bumped out by

another month. The taxes were initially supposed to go into effect on February 1st, and Bureau's Daniel Kurzleben has more. The tariffs had been delayed until next week, but at his cabinet meeting today, Trump seemed to say that his proposed 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico would now be delayed again. April 2nd, I was going to do it on April 1st, but I'm a little bit superstitious I made it April 2nd. The tariffs go on, not all of them, but a lot of them. But it was also unclear how hard and fast that new deadline would be. Later, Commerce

Secretary Howard Lutnick seemed to say it was contingent on Canada and Mexico slowing the flow of fentanyl. Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, but has proposed many others. That uncertainty, economists say, can itself be harmful because it hampers business investment. Danielle Kurzlaib in NPR News. The Trump administration has suspended the federal official who leads one of the country's most extensive student testing programs. As NPR's Alyssa Nadwarni explains, Peggy Carr oversees what is known as the nation's report card. It's considered the gold standard in assessment of student achievement. The data provide insights

on how K-12 students are faring in core subjects, including math and reading. Peggy Carr was appointed by President Joe Biden and had worked at the National Center for Education Statistics, which runs the test, for nearly three decades. The Education Department's press office confirmed her leave but did not provide any reason. The latest data released in January found some marginal improvements but showed U.S. fourth and eighth graders in 2024 still performing below pre-pandemic levels in reading and math. The Trump White House called those results unacceptable and a major cause for concern.

Alyson Adwerney, NPR News. The Agriculture Department plans to invest up to a billion dollars to fight the avian flu outbreak that has pushed egg prices to record highs. NPR's Scott Horsley reports much of the money is aimed at protecting the nation's flock of egg-laying hens. Egg prices jumped more than 15 percent last month and panic buyers emptied store shelves after farmers were forced to cull millions of laying hens in an effort to slow the spread

of avian flu. The Agriculture Department says it will spend up to half a billion dollars boosting biosafety precautions at egg farms. Another $400 million will go to speed the replacement of lost birds, although it can take six months to a year to raise a productive laying hen. The federal government is also exploring ways to temporarily boost the supply of imported eggs and possibly to vaccinate domestic chickens. Vaccination efforts are challenging, however, they can make it harder to export birds raised for meat. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street, stocks drifted to another mixed close today. The Dow was down 188 points. The Nasdaq closed up 48 points. The S&P 500 rose a fraction. You're listening to NPR News. The Senate has signed off on Jameson Greer to be the nation's top trade negotiator. Greer's nomination clearing the Senate by a 56 to 43 vote today. A veteran of President Trump's first term economic battles with countries including China, Mexico and Canada, Greer

will work with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. He'll help push Trump's aggressive trade agenda, including steep tariffs on foreign imports as part of a plan to protect U.S. industry and raise revenues for the Treasury. This week's Billboard charts are out and Drake has the number one album in the U.S. and PR Stephen Thompson has the report. Last week, Kendrick Lamar dominated the Billboard charts. He had the number one album and song in the country and many more of his works peppered the top ten. This week, he relinquishes the number one spot on the album's chart to a familiar nemesis, the rapper Drake, who inspired several of Lamar's recent hits. Drake's album, Some Sexy Songs for You, is a collaboration with

the producer, next door. I got a come to the stage. Yeah, come to the stage and show me some love. Kendrick Lamar still dominates the top of this week's singles chart with four of the week's top five songs. But just beneath him, Drake has set a new milestone with two songs debuting in the top 10. He's now had 80 top 10 hits. That's an all-time record. Stephen Thompson, NPR News. Rescuers say that it's successfully free to hump back whale in the Baltic Sea that became entangled in fishing gear. The whale was spotted off the coast of Poland. A team of wildlife experts spent about an hour cutting and removing netting from the whale. Officials said the animal was stressed, but appeared to appreciate the help.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. Here on Shortwave, we believe that science is for everyone and that every question is worth asking, no matter your age. My name is Willie and my question is, is magic real? Our podcast is for the curious at heart. Come embrace your inner child when you listen now to Shortwave from NPR.