NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-03-2025 1AM EST

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

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When she teaches her students how to write a song, musician Scarlett Keys says they need to ask themselves certain questions. What is the thing that keeps you up at night? What's the thing you can't stop thinking about? As songwriters, we are repurposing human tropes and a new viewpoint with new words, with new music. The people and technology behind the soundtracks of our lives. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR.

Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Europe is at a crossroads of history. He made that comment after a summit he hosted in London on Sunday with European and Canadian leaders, along with Ukrainian President Zelensky. The leaders discussed ways to help Ukraine in its war with Russia. Vicki Barker has more from London. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that in the coming days, the UK, France and other nations in what he called a coalition of the willing will put together a peace deal for and with Ukraine to present to the United States, a deal that would come with billions in new European pledges of military aid. Europe must do the heavy listing, but to support peace in our continent and to succeed, this

effort must have strong US backing. Starmer making it clear that the UK at least is prepared to put boots on the ground to ensure peace in Ukraine is achieved and maintained. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. Federal workers have been receiving emails this weekend telling them to detail what they got done last week. It's the second time the request has gone out. There was a lot of confusion over the first email and low levels of compliance.

So Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered advice Sunday on how defense workers should respond. I am now directing each member of the department's civilian workforce, just civilian, to provide those five bullets on what they accomplished in their specific jobs last week to reply to that email and CC their immediate supervisors. It's a simple task. The emails came from the Office of Personnel Management, where the idea of White House Advisor Elon Musk. President Trump has signed two executive orders aimed at increasing American lumber production.

He's also considering an increase in tariffs on lumber imports. As MPR's Danielle Kurtz-Leibn reports, those are just some of the tariffs the administration is currently threatening to implement. One order directs agencies to find ways to increase lumber production. Another directs the Secretary of Commerce to investigate possible lumber tariffs.

The White House says the goal is to reduce the cost of building housing. Tariffs are taxes American businesses pay to import products from abroad. Trump has also threatened tariffs on an array of other goods in countries. Canada accounts for around 40 percent of American lumber imports, by far the largest of any country. Trump has also threatened blanket 25 percent tariffs on Canada as well as Mexico, saying those could take effect as early as March 4th. Danielle Kurtzleib in NPR News, West Palm Beach, Florida. Israel is facing sharp criticism from around the world after stopping the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza on Sunday. Its Prime Minister made the move after Hamas rejected a plan to extend the first phase

of the ceasefire rather than negotiate a second phase as originally was planned. That first phase ended this weekend. Hamas is calling the aid stoppage a war crime and a blatant attack on the ceasefire process. You're listening to NPR News. Crews are fighting wildfires in both North and South Carolina at this hour. Some residents have been forced to leave their homes as gusting winds drive the flames toward some towns. In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster has declared a state of emergency to support the response effort, and statewide burning ban does remain in effect. Some taxpayers

are having trouble accessing the federal tax credit for purchasing a new electric vehicle. They might meet all the eligibility requirements but as NPR's Kamila Domenosky reports, their dealers didn't follow the right steps. Christina Meyer bought a plug-in hybrid last year. She knew her car dealer wasn't offering the EV tax credit as an upfront rebate that was a new option last year, but her dealer said she could still claim the credit later, at tax time. Come tax time, her return was rejected. And that's when we realized this is not the right form that they gave us. Turns out the dealer did not use the IRS's new system for reporting

sales, and now that system says it's too late to fix the mistake. Hundreds of thousands of people got the credit up front, and their credits should be safe. But buyers like Meyer are appealing to the IRS for help. Camila Dominovski, NPR News. Japan's factory activity shrank for an eighth consecutive month in February. A private sector survey also showed the concerns over U.S. protectionist trade policies are weighing on business leaders. President Trump's tariff threats against key trading partners have created uncertainty

for investors and policymakers there who are concerned that a trade war could affect the global economy. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. Bella DiPaolo is glad if you're happily married, but she is perfectly happy being single. I would love to have someone who took care of my car or someone who cleaned up the dishes after dinner, but then I'd want them to leave. From yourself to your dog to your spouse are significant others. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR.