NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-04-2025 2AM EST

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

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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. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. President Trump's 25 percent levies on imports from Mexico and Canada are now in effect. Commerce Secretary Howard Lucknett says,

Trump appreciates the steps those nations have taken to secure their borders, but it's not enough. 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 says the tariffs are aimed at reinvigorating U.S. manufacturing, but some businesses fear they will lead to a trade war.

Meanwhile, China's retaliating after U.S. tariffs on its goods and services went to 20 percent Tuesday. The president has launched a blitz of actions heading into Tuesday's address to the nation and a joint session of Congress. NPR's Elena Moore reports. Though similar, this won't be a state of the union address. Those happen after a president's first year in office. This joint address lets a newly sworn in president lay out their agenda. And Trump's first few weeks have been busy. His administration has taken steps to dramatically reshape the federal government, crack down on illegal immigration, and redefine the U.S. role abroad. His supporters are thrilled,

his detractors dismayed. Trump's remarks are set to kick off at 9 p.m. Eastern. Alaina Moore, NPR News, Washington. An FBI official says he was forced to retire after resisting efforts by Justice Department officials to scrutinize the New York field office he oversaw. James Dennehy says he told staffers to dig in after DOJ fired senior FBI leaders and requested the names of all agents involved in the January 6th investigations.

In a message obtained by the Associated Press on Monday, Dennehy says he was told to leave late Friday. Doge has fired dozens of tech experts from a team that have been focused on making government digital services more efficient. NPR's Frank Langford has more. The team is known as 18F. Among their projects were these, a digital tool that allows taxpayers to upload documents directly to the IRS instead of having to write a letter, and another that makes it easier to get a passport. However, over the weekend, a government official, who used to work for Tesla,

told the 18F team they had to go, with stated reasons to reduce the workforce and, as part of a quote, broader strategy to improve efficiency. One of the affected workers, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said he thought Doge was purging the team because they had the technical savvy to recognize and check bad decisions by the Trump administration. Frank Langford, NPR News, Washington. Senate Democrats have blocked a bill that would have barred transgender women and girls from

competing in school sports competitions. The measure would amend the federal law against sex-based discrimination in education programs or activities. This is NPR. programs or activities. This is NPR. An Illinois man has pleaded guilty to an attack during a July 5th parade in 2022. 24-year-old Robert Cremo III initially pleaded not guilty to killing seven people and injuring dozens more in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. He changed his plea before opening statements in his murder and attempted murder trial on Monday. Rural America is facing a doctor shortage. Some states are trying to fix the problem by making it easier for foreign-trained physicians to get their medical license. RAL Science with KFF

Health News has the story. At least nine states have passed laws to allow some foreign trained physicians to practice medicine in the U.S. without completing an American residency program. The hope is to recruit experienced doctors to quickly fill gaps in rural communities, but some researchers think it might not be enough to reverse the shortage. Erin Frayer is a health policy expert at the University of North Carolina. I think the potential is there, but we need to see how this pans out. Frayer says the foreign-trained doctors could still have trouble getting hired where they're most needed.

Hospitals in some states would have to designate a supervisor for them, and they generally won't be eligible to work as specialists. RL Science reporting. For the second time in less than a month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reversing the renaming of a military base, this time in Georgia. He says Fort Moore should again be called Fort Benning. The move comes weeks after Hegseth obtained the renaming, ordered the renaming of Fort Bragg in North Carolina. This is NPR News.