NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-04-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

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Jack Spear Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress tonight, a speech that looks like a State of the Union, but technically isn't, given it's the first of his new term. The White House says the theme of Trump's speech will be the renewal of the American Dream. But as Danielle Kurzleben reports, there are also plenty of controversies for him to talk about. Danielle Kurzleben Trump's speech comes as new tariffs he's Danielle Kertzel, Laban reports, there are also plenty of controversies for him to talk about. Danielle Kertzel, Laban reports, there are also plenty of controversies for him to talk

about. Danielle Kertzel, Laban reports, Trump's speech comes as new tariffs he's imposed have gone into effect on China and allies, Canada and Mexico. Tariffs are taxes paid to import goods from abroad. That means US businesses pay US tariffs. Those tariffs can cause higher prices for consumers. The speech also comes as the US has suspended military aid to 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. The Longmoss Department of Government Efficiency continues to delete hundreds of items from its wall of receipts. As NPR's Bobby Allen explains, the cost-cutting unit has been scaling back its publicized savings after errors and exaggeration. Elon Musk has been promoting a wall of receipts page on his Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE website. But as questions have been raised about numerous cancelled federal contracts, more and more receipts have been disappearing. In fact, items totaling about $4 billion in supposed savings have been erased. Some of them were old contracts with money

already spent, or items that have been double or triple counted. NPR found that Doge's documented savings have been grossly overstated, including an item boasting of an $8 billion savings when it should have been $8 million. The Doge site claims its cost-cutting work has saved taxpayers more than $100 billion, but only about $2 billion of that can be confirmed with federal contract data. Bobby Allen, NPR News. International aid groups are warning of dire repercussions for Palestinians in Gaza as Israel has blocked all aid into the enclave. The blockade comes after Israel offered a new plan for the ceasefire deal which Hamas rebuffed MPRS Kat Lonsdorf reports. UNICEF says the

stoppage of aid will quote quickly lead to devastating consequences after more than 15 months of war left nearly 2 million people in severe need. It said the ceasefire that has been in effect for the past six weeks and the significant uptick in aid that had come with it was a quote critical lifeline, especially for children. Other aid groups are also sounding the alarm, saying stopping aid violates international law. Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have condemned the move as well. The Israeli government is pushing a new plan for a ceasefire extension, which Hamas has not agreed to. The militant group has called the aid blockade quote, cheap blackmail in an attempt to get it to agree.

Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. For a second straight day, a punishing sell-off on Wall Street amid President Trump's escalating trade war, the Dow was down 670 points. You're listening to NPR. A Hong Kong holding company under scrutiny by the Trump administration says it is selling

its ports in the Panama Canal to a group of investors led by the US asset manager Blackrock. More from NPR's Emily Fang. CK Hutchinson Holdings Limited is one of Hong Kong's biggest family-run conglomerates, founded by the non-engineering and billionaire Li Ka-shing. And it's their majority ownership in two port terminals in the Panama Canal that came under heavy criticism from President Trump, who cited the Hong Kong company's ownership as a sign of mainland Chinese government influence over the canal. CK Hutchinson owned stakes in logistics and transport businesses around the world and has no demonstrated ties to the mainland Chinese government. This week, CK Hutchinson said it sold its stakes in the canal for $22.8 billion to a consortium

led by American group BlackRock in a quote, rapid, discreet, but competitive bidding process. Emily Fang and Pierre News, Washington. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams never thought they'd be in space this long, but after nine months at the International Space Station, the pair are just weeks away from returning to Earth. The two piloted Boeing's new Starliner to the ISS with expectations of spending just a week or so in space, but problems with the capsule prompted NASA to fly it back to Earth empty. Willmore and Williams spoke to reporters today from the space station. They'll be flown back to Earth next week by

the private company SpaceX. Critical futures prices fell to Mali month lows today as markets try to adjust to Trump's administration tariffs coupled with announced output increases coming from OPEC oiled down 11 cents a barrel. This is NPR.