NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-05-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

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Hey, it's Amartines. I work on a news show. And yeah, the news can feel like a lot on any given day. But you just can't ignore las noticias when important world-changing events are happening. So that is where the Up First podcast comes in. Every single morning in under 15 minutes, we take the news and boil it down to three essential stories so you can keep up without feeling stressed out. Listen to the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from N NPR News in Washington, on Corva Coleman, the Supreme Court has taken a step to limit some of the Trump administration's sweeping cuts to federal spending. The justices declined to stop a lower court order that told the administration to pay contractors for foreign aid work that's already been completed.

This involves the U.S. Agency for International Development. Stocks opened higher this morning as investors remain on tariff watch. NPR's Scott Horsley reports the Dow Jones industrial average rose about 200 points in early trading. Stocks tumbled earlier this week as President Trump launched his trade war. The decision to impose steep taxes on imports is expected to raise prices in the U.S. and invite retaliation from trading partners. But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business News there could be taxes on imports is expected to raise prices in the U.S. and invite retaliation from trading partners. But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business News there could be some speedy modification of those tariffs, so investors are in wait-and-see mode. The IRS is reportedly considering deeper staffing cuts. The tax collection agency has already

eliminated more than 6,000 jobs. And the Associated Press reports tens of thousands more could be on the chopping block. Scaling back tax enforcement actually costs the government money by making it easier for wealthy people to avoid paying what they owe. Scott Horsley in Pair News, Washington. President Trump talked about Russia's war in Ukraine during his address to Congress last night. He says he got a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who says Ukraine is ready for peace. This comes after a disastrous meeting last Friday between the leaders and after Trump paused U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Trump's national security adviser, Mike Walz, says Trump may consider lifting that pause.

Yesterday and today was a positive step forward to say we are going to negotiate this peace and we're already talking about confidence building measures that we'll then take to the Russians and test that side. This is going to be a tough shuttle diplomacy, but both sides have to enter into it. And you know, that's what Friday put into question. I think we're moving in a positive direction now. He spoke to Fox News. The Trump administration and Israel are criticizing an Egyptian plan

to rebuild Gaza after more than a year of war. Arab leaders met in Cairo yesterday, and Piers Ea-Batraouit reports they're backing Egypt's plan and rejecting a call to displace Palestinians. Egypt's detailed reconstruction plan for Gaza runs 91 pages long and is focused on keeping Palestinians on the land. It encourages establishing a Palestinian committee to temporarily oversee Gaza without Hamas. The plan offers an alternative to President Trump's idea that all two million Palestinians in Gaza should be permanently displaced to neighboring Arab states. But a White House National Security Council spokesman says Egypt's proposal doesn't

address the reality that Gaza is uninhabitable now. He says President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas. In a statement after the Arab summit Israel said the Arab position on Gaza is rooted in outdated perspectives and that Trump's relocation plan should be encouraged. Aya Boutraoui, MPR News, Dubai. On Wall Street the dial is now up 180 points. This is NPR. Officials in Greenland are reacting to President Trump's declaration during his congressional address that the U.S. would take over the large island. Greenland's prime minister says that will never happen. Greenland cannot be taken or bought. He says

the United States needs to understand that. Trump says he supports Greenlanders' right to determine their own future, but Trump also said last night that one way or another, quote, we're going to get it. NPR has learned the Trump administration has disbanded all of the Census Bureau's committees of outside advisors. That includes a committee that was focused on getting accurate 2030 census results. NPR's Hansi Le Wang has more. For decades, committees of unpaid advisors have offered their expertise and perspectives on how the Census Bureau can better meet the Constitution's requirement to count the country's residents once every 10 years. Census results are used to determine each state's share

of congressional seats, electoral college votes, and trillions in federal funding. According to emails shared with NPR, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who oversees the Bureau, has disbanded all three of the Bureau's advisory committees. The emails say Lutnick determined their purpose has been fulfilled. But Arturo Vargas, an advisory committee chair, says in a statement that removing them risks undermining the Bureau's efficiency and ability to secure the public's cooperation with the census. Abolishing the committees was one of the proposals by the right-wing groups behind their Project 2025 plan. Hansi Luang, NPR News, Washington. Weather forecasters say a powerful storm is blasting through the central and eastern U.S. There are blizzard conditions in the Midwest. There are tornado watches in South Carolina this morning. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.