NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-04-2025 12PM EST

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

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Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington. President Trump will address a joint session of Congress today, a speech that looks like a State of the Union, but technically it's not, as it's the first of his new term. As NPR's Danielle Kurtz-Levin reports, there are few details on what he'll say, but he has plenty of recent controversies to talk about. Danielle Kortz-Levin, NPR News in Washington. Trump's speech comes as new tariffs he's imposed have gone into effect on China and allies Canada and Mexico. recent controversies to talk about. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York.

Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York.

Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Reporter, The New York Times, Newsweek, New York. Sarah Huckabee-Katz, CNN Ukraine, days after an Oval Office argument between Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. During his speech, Trump is expected to ask Congress to pass new funding for border security and possibly also an extension of tax cuts. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News. Danielle Kirsten, NPR News.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says President Trump launched a trade war against Canada and he says he's levying retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. Canada will be implementing 25 percent tariffs against $155 billion worth of American goods, starting with tariffs on $30 billion worth of goods immediately and tariffs on the remaining $125 billion of American products in 21 days' time. LESLIE KENDRICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CHINA MEANWHILE SAYS IT'S IMPOSING TARIFS ON U.S. FARM PRODUCTS AND EXPANDING CONTROLS ON DOING BUSINESS WITH KEY U.S. COMPANIES, MEXICO SAYS

IT WILL ANNOUNCE RETALIATORY TARIFS ON SUNDAY. UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT ZLENSKY SAYS ON SOCIAL MEDIA HE'S READY TO SIGN A MINERALS DEAL WITH THE U.S. and work with President Trump. He says no one wants an endless war and that his meeting with Trump at the White House Friday didn't go the way it was supposed to and that that was regrettable. The Supreme Court hears arguments today involving Mexico and American gun manufacturers. And Piers Nina Totenberg has more.

Mexico is suing Smith & Wesson and other gun makers for $10 billion in damages, claiming that they're turning a blind eye to hundreds of thousands of high-powered weapons made in the U.S. and trafficked illegally into the hands of Mexican cartels. Jonathan Lowey, co-counsel for Mexico, maintains that 90% of gun dealers act legally, but the rest do not. Those bad actors sell to obvious cartel traffickers in bulk sales. But Lawrence Keene, counsel for the Firearms Industry Trade Association, counters that manufacturers can't be held accountable for the actions of dealers. If that was all that was required, Budweiser would be responsible for a drunk driving accident.

A decision in the case is expected by summer. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington. The Dow is down 663 points. You're listening to NPR News. California's Governor Gavin Newsom issued a return to office order for state employees. He did it by executive order yesterday. Mandating state employees work at least four days a week in person by July 1st.

That's a change from the post-pandemic model that allowed employees to work remotely for most of the week. He says it will help with communication and collaboration and allow better services for Californians. Scientists at a Texas biotech company say they've taken another important step in their quest to bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction. And Piers Robbstein has more. Scientists at Colossal Biosciences in Dallas say they've created what they call woolly mice. These are mice that have been genetically engineered to have traits that made woolly mammoths distinctive, like their long shaggy coat. The scientists say they

plan to do the same thing with the mammoth's closest living relatives, Asian elephants, and hopefully someday release herds of these mammoth-like elephants into the Arctic. Critics worry about unintended consequences of releasing mammoth-like elephants into the Arctic. Rob Stein, NPR News. The Vatican says Pope Francis slept through the night and has stabilized enough to resume using just a nasal tube for oxygen rather than a ventilation mask. The 88-year-old has double pneumonia and has been hospitalized for nearly three weeks. On Wall Street, the Dow is down one and a half percent, the NASDAQ is down about nine-tenths of a percent, the S&P 500 down 1.3 percent. I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.