NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-04-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

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This message comes from Wondery. Scam Factory, the explosive new podcast series, exposes a multi-billion dollar criminal empire where thousands are being forced to scam others under the threat of death. Follow Scam Factory wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Donald Trump will deliver an address to a joint session of Congress tonight. He has been in office for six weeks and has launched a blitz of action since returning to the White House for his second term. MPR'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. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has last outed President Trump accusing him of starting a trade war. It came after Trump earlier today imposed 25% tariffs on most products from Canada and Mexico. Here's NPR's Jackie Northam. Prime Minister Trudeau quickly responded to Trump's tariffs, saying Canada would impose its own 25% import tax on about

a hundred billion dollars of US goods. That'll be rolled out over the next couple of weeks. He says Trump's tariffs will cause enormous pain on both sides of the border. At a press conference, Trudeau addressed Trump directly. He looked straight into the camera and called him by his first name, as he referred to a recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal. Donald, they point out that even though you're a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. Trump responded dismissively, calling him Governor Trudeau and threatening more tariffs

likely next month. Jackie Northam, NPR News. New Secretary of Education Linda McMahon sent a note to staff making it clear she will work quickly to dismantle the department. NPR's Cory Turner reports. The new secretary's note, which is posted on the Education Department's website, says the department is not working as intended. We must start thinking about our final mission at the department as an overhaul, she writes, a last chance to restore the culture of liberty and excellence that made American education great.

And she closes, speaking directly to Education Department staff, telling them, this is our opportunity to perform one final, unforgettable public service for students. According to a new NPR-PBS News Marist poll, 63% of Americans do not support getting rid of the U.S. Department of Education. Corey Turner, NPR News. Swaths of the South and Central Plains states continue to deal with bad weather. Storms hit Texas and Oklahoma today, brought high winds and rain along with power outages. There were wind gusts of up to 85 miles an hour. Meanwhile, in the central plains in the Midwest, they're bracing for blizzard-like conditions.

The Dow fell 670 points. This is NPR. An attack by suicide bombers against a military base in Pakistan has reportedly claimed the lives of at least 12 people and left 30 others injured. Officials say the two suicide bombers apparently breached a wall at the base in northwestern Pakistan today, while others stormed the compound. A group affiliated with the Pakistan Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. An architect from China has won architecture's most prestigious award, the Pritzker Prize,

and Pior's Net of Lublias more. Lu Jia Kun was born in 1956. He was one of the first architects to start a private firm in China. He's mostly worked there throughout his career, designing museums, university buildings, even a maternity ward for pandas at a research institution in Chengdu. Lu told NPR through his translator, his 24-year-old son Martin, that after a deadly earthquake in 2008, his firm made bricks from the rubble. They became known as rebirth bricks because of what they were used for. Like reconstructions of some buildings in villages and also some public buildings in the city.

Each brick, he said, contained a visible memory of what came before. Nada Oulibi, NPR News. Today is the day known as Fat Tuesday when revelers fill the streets wearing colorful costumes in New Orleans and elsewhere. The culmination of the weeks-long carnival season features traditions including social clubs tossing trinkets and bejeweled outfits and feathered dresses. Enhanced security isn't effective in New Orleans. That follows an

attack on January 1st that killed 14 people. Some Mardi Gras parades were postponed. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. There's a lot of news happening. You want to understand it better, but let's be honest, you don't want it to be your entire life either. Well, that's sort of like our show, Here and Now, Anytime. Every weekday on our podcast, we talk to people all over the country about everything from political analysis to climate resilience, video games. We even talk about dumpster diving on this show. Check out Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR.