NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-06-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: March 6, 2025

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JANENE HERPST, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, WASHINGTON. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herpst. President Trump has for now suspended 25 percent tariffs on most imported goods coming from Canada and Mexico. NPR's Franco Ordoñez has more on the latest twist in the tariff saga. FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, WASHINGTON. Trump agreed to suspend tariffs on goods that fall under a North American Trade Act until April 2, which is also the date

that Trump says he'll impose reciprocal tariffs on goods from a wider range of countries. A senior administration official added that Canada and Mexico can avert those tariffs if they make more progress on curbing fentanyl trafficking. Danielle Pletka MPR's Franco Ordonez reporting from the White House. And it's the second time Trump has postponed the tariffs since he announced them late last month. The White House says it's brought down migrant encounters at the US-Mexico border to a historic low. And Pierce Jasmine Garth reports the numbers come

as President Trump promises to continue an unprecedented campaign of mass deportations. Customs and Border Protection has not yet released its official numbers for the month of February, but President Donald Trump says that it's a historic low, 8,326 apprehensions by Border Patrol agents on the southern border. For comparison, back in 2023, the US-Mexico border saw a record high number of border apprehensions, nearly 250,000. However, migrant encounters began decreasing mid-last year, going down to about 96,000

by December 2024. In a statement, the Trump administration said, quote, illegal border crossers have given up and are returning to their own countries. Jasmine Garst, NPR News, New York. Israel has blocked all food, fuel and aid into Gaza for the past five days. Gaza's two million people depend entirely on whatever Israel allows in. If you're Zaya Batraoui reports, Israel imposed this blockade to pressure Hamas into a different ceasefire deal.

Ifyir Zia Batraoui, Human Rights Watch, says officials operating Gaza's water and waste services tell them there are only enough fuel reserves left to continue operating water facilities for one more week. Then, nearly all water production from wells and one of Gaza's two functional desalination facilities will come to a halt. And this week, two main water plants in central Gaza, serving 70 percent of people there, ceased operations. The municipality says the plants shut down in Dira al-Barak after Israel cut electricity

to them. Israeli officials did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment. Several Israeli rights groups have petitioned Israel's Supreme Court to prohibit the government from continuing the blockade, saying aid to civilians cannot be used as a weapon of war or a means of exerting pressure. Ayah Batraoui, NPR News, Dubai. Wall Street Lower by the close, the Dow down 427, Nasdaq down 483. You're listening to NPR News.

A new study suggests that a persistent medical condition affecting women could be greatly reduced by also treating their male sexual partners. And Pierce Ping Huang has more. Bacterial vaginosis affects one in three women under 50. It comes from an imbalance of bacteria in the vagina. It causes pain, discomfort, and discharge, and it can be hard to get rid of. A new study by Australian researchers finds that treating male partners too with antibiotics for a week cut the rate of recurrence

almost in half from 60% to 35%. The results appear in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Christina Musney with the University of Alabama at Birmingham wrote an op-ed to go with it. You know right now guidelines don't recommend treating male partners. I really think the study asked the literature to show that that should strongly be considered. The results come from 160 couples. The researchers had intended to study more people, but the trial was stopped early because the intervention was so effective. Ping Huang, NPR News. The number of butterflies in the U.S. is falling. A new study in the journal Science says the

total number of butterflies in the contiguous U.S. fell 22 percent over the past 20 years as shrinking habitat and rising temperatures, along with toxic pesticides, kill off the insects. And that has scientists worried that it could upend ecosystems and undercut pollination for the country's crops. The drop in butterfly numbers is part of a pattern of insects whose numbers are declining, including bumblebees, fireflies, and other insects around the world. I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.