NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-05-2025 3AM EST

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. President Trump marks six weeks into his second term in the White House with a more than one hour 40-minute speech to a joint session of Congress, taking credit for what he called swift and unrelenting action. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started. ... claimed his election win in November amounts to a mandate for sweeping change, but multiple Democrats walked out in protest, and one, Texas Congressman Al Green, was escorted from

the chamber after standing and yelling his opposition to Medicaid cuts. First term Michigan Senator Alyssa Slotkin delivered the Democratic response to President Trump's address. She questioned whether Americans will benefit from his policies. Do his plans actually help Americans get ahead? Not even close. President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends. He's on the hunt to find trillions of dollars

to pass along to the wealthiest in America. And to do that, he's going to make you pay in every part of your life. MPR's Domenico Montanaro kept tabs on Trump's address and says it was a very partisan speech. He didn't really attempt even to be a bridge builder in this speech, essentially dismissing Democrats, whom he referred to as

these people and radical left lunatics. He's saying that they'd never vote for anything he'd do anyway. But he also didn't pay attention to a lot of the things that independents are saying that they're concerned about, notably in our NPR PBS News Marist poll saying that they think he's moving too fast, that they have a negative opinion of Doge and the cuts that they're making and have a pretty negative opinion of the job he's doing so far. And that wasn't something that he really thought about or talked much about. Instead, he went back to some of the greatest hits, talking very strongly about immigration, while dismissing in many respects, the potential increase in prices that that tariffs are likely to bring. President Trump's 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico have gone into effect.

Texas Public Radio's Marianne Navarro reports that Texas leaders are expressing concerns about the potential impact to the state's truck manufacturing industry. Texas mayors Ron Nurnberg of San Antonio and Jim Ross of Arlington wrote in a letter to senators that tariffs will jeopardize thousands of jobs in auto manufacturing hubs in Texas. San Antonio's Toyota plant employs 3,700 workers to make Tundras and Sequoias. In Arlington, more than 5,000 Texans make Yukons, Tahos, Suburbans, and Escalades. Glenn Hammer, who is the president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business, says the 25 percent tariffs could result in higher vehicle prices for consumers, up to

$9,000. I'm Marianne Navarro in San Antonio. And you're listening to NPR News. An emergency summit of Arab leaders in Cairo ended with a clear message. Arab states reject displacement to Palestinians outside their land. NPR's Aya Petraoui reports that Arab states also adopted a detailed Egyptian plan for the reconstruction and future of Gaza after nearly 16 months of devastating Israeli airstrikes. The Arab states' joint message is a response to President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza, which Israel has embraced. Trump's plan is to permanently displace Palestinians outside the enclave to neighboring countries

and turn Gaza into a beachfront development under U.S. ownership. Arab states instead threw their support behind an alternative plan for Gaza's future, put forth by Egypt and backed by Palestinian groups. Any plans, though, will need U.S. and Israeli backing. Israel is currently blocking aid into Gaza to pressure Hamas into a different temporary ceasefire deal that frees more hostages but does not end the war. The Arab statement rejecting displacement also comes as a weeks-long Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank has displaced tens of thousands more Palestinians there.

Aya Batraoui, NPR News, Dubai. The Trump administration is dismissing that Arab plan for Gaza. The White House says in a statement that the plan does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and that President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza. A large storm system is being blamed for killing two people in Mississippi. Governor Tate Rees confirmed the death Tuesday in a social media post. The system spun off tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana and led to whiteout conditions in the Midwest.

More than 150,000 customers are without power in Texas. I'm Jial Snyder, MPR News.