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

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

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Noor Ram live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Noor Ram. More than 100 members of Congress are asking for details on Doge action at the federal housing agency HUD. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee will hand deliver a letter to HUD today. Jennifer Ludden The letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner notes record high housing costs and homelessness and deep concern that major downsizing by Doge could make that worse. The signers also worry about conflicts of interest. They say two Doge people at HUD come from housing-related industries that

could benefit from less oversight. Among other things, the members of Congress want to know all political appointees with access to HUD records, the names of staff already let go, and a breakdown of the plan for more cuts, and a list of contracts that have been canceled or could be. Turner says in his first month he has carried out an audit and cut waste. An agency spokesperson says HUD continues to deliver on its critical missions. Jennifer Lutton and in Pierre News, Washington. Tariffs against Mexico and Canada are scheduled to go into effect tomorrow. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutten said they're necessary because the U.S. neighbors have

not done enough to stem the flow of illegal drugs across the borders. Why are we building a wall when the most important trading partner to Mexico and Canada is America. They should be more respectful to us. They should be stopping caravans. And that's what the president set these tariffs about. Lutnick was interviewed on CNN. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is back home after a busy weekend. He had a contentious meeting with President Trump at the White House Friday, then went

to London where he received a warm welcome from European leaders who were discussing how to provide long-term security for Ukraine. In his nightly address last night, Zelensky again thanked the U.S. for its support. Canada's Prime Minister is meeting with King Charles III today in England. The British monarch is Canada's ceremonial head of state. But he's been criticized in Canada for staying silent amid President Trump's threats to annex Canada. NPR's Lauren Fraire reports from London. Ahead of his meeting with the King, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a European summit in London with Ukraine's president. But the questions Trudeau got from reporters were mostly about President Trump's threats to make Canada the 51st state. He responded

by saying he's looking forward to sitting down with King Charles to discuss matters of importance to Canadians. And I can tell you that nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation. The monarch typically does not comment on politics, at least publicly. And he has invited Trump for a second state visit to the UK in the coming months. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, London. This is NPR News in Washington. German police say a car rammed into a crowd of people in the western city of Mannheim today.

One person was killed and several others were injured. A suspect is in custody. It happened as crowds are gathering in cities across Germany to celebrate the carnival season. A Texas-based company has landed a spacecraft on the moon. It's a new step for U.S. space exploration. The lunar lander carried a number of NASA's science experiments on board. NPR's Joe Hernandez reports.

The Blue Ghost lunar lander by the American company Firefly Aerospace touched down on the moon early Sunday morning. The mission is part of a NASA program to contract with private space companies to deliver scientific instruments and other payloads to the moon. Included on the Blue Ghost lander are a device to collect rock samples from the lunar surface and an X-ray imager to study Earth's magnetic field. The successful touchdown came after several

attempts by other private companies to land on the moon in recent years. Blue Ghost's landing capped a 45-day journey covering more than 2.8 million miles. Joe Hernandez, NPR News. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote an opinion piece for Fox News on the measles outbreak in Texas. One child has died, the first measles-related fatality in the U.S. in 10 years. Kennedy says getting vaccinated not only protects individual children from measles, but helps protect those in the community who are unable to be vaccinated.

Kennedy has a long history of discouraging parents from getting their children vaccinated. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.