NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-07-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: March 7, 2025

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Making time for the news is important, but when you need a break, we've got you covered on All Songs Considered, NPR's music podcast. Think of it like a music discovery show, a well-deserved escape with friends, and yeah, some serious music insight. I'm going to keep it real. I have no idea what this story is about. Hear new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday, wherever you get podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear.

As President Trump expresses doubts about helping defend NATO allies and seeks to pressure Russia to end its war against Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky heads to Saudi Arabia next week. NPR's Joanna Kokissus has more. Writing on social media, Zelensky said he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Monday. Then his team will stay in Saudi Arabia to talk with Trump administration delegates later in the week about a framework for ending Russia's war on Ukraine. It's the first meeting between the U.S. and Ukraine since President Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly berated Zelensky

in the Oval Office on February 28th. Since the incident, Zelensky's popularity at home has increased by more than 11 percentage points. A new public opinion poll shows that 68 percent of Ukrainians trust him as a leader. Joanna Kekesis, NPR News, Kyiv. Parents in Maine were being told not to register their newborns for a Social Security number at the hospital. Now, the agency is reversing course and issued an apology. Maine Public Radio's Patty White reports the change could have forced new parents to travel to a Social Security office.

In a statement on the SSA website, Acting Commissioner Lee Dudek said he realized he created an undue burden when he ended the enumeration at birth program in Maine. That process has been in place across the country since the 1980s. Maine providers were alerted Wednesday that the popular program had been suspended. Dr. Joe Anderson of the Maine chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said he's concerned the program was terminated so suddenly. We just got an email saying, effective immediately, we're not doing this anymore. And that just doesn't seem like an efficient way for our government to operate ever.

In his statement, Acting Commissioner Dudek said, quote, as a leader, I will admit my mistakes and make them right. For NPR News, I'm Patty White in Lewiston, Maine. Well, she ended the volatile week as President Trump implemented then delayed tariffs. More from NPR's Maria Aspin. American businesses are feeling the whiplash of President Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China. So are investors.

Major stock indices plunged when the tariffs went into effect, then rallied the first time Trump gave a partial reprieve, but still ended down for the week. NYU professor Anna Tavis says that business owners don't like this news onslaught any more than consumers. Businesses don't like uncertainty. And some businesses are really worried about the tariffs becoming permanent, especially the automakers, retailers and other consumer-facing companies that would be directly affected. Best Buy CEO warned this week that price increases for American consumers are, quote, highly likely. Maria Aspin, NPR News, New York.

You're listening to NPR News in Washington. Authorities in Santa Fe, New Mexico today have revealed new information on the deaths last month of actor Gene Hackman and his wife at their home. In both cases, health officials ruling out foul play. The state's medical examiner said today it appears Hackman's wife, 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa, died before him after contracting the hantavirus, a rare but potentially fatal disease, from infected rodent droppings. The cause of death for 95-year-old Gene Hackman, whose body was found near an entryway to the couple's home, was heart disease and advanced Alzheimer's. He apparently died some days after his wife.

Some small eaglets are getting lots of attention in Big Bear, California. As NPR's Amy Held reports, a live eagle cam trained on a treetop nest documented the hatching of two birds this week. 145 feet up a pine tree in the San Bernardino mountains, eagle-eyed viewers are watching the ritual of a new family nesting. It's been a big week for parents, Shadow and Jackie, as one, then another, eagle it hatched. The camera was installed by nonprofit friends of the Big Bear Valley more than a decade ago, and hundreds of thousands have followed online.

What's been a rollercoaster journey at times? Some eggs never hatched. Now, these fuzzy, hungry eaglets are keeping their parents on their talons, with feeding and warming duties as a snowstorm blankets the nest. And anticipation builds for a family of five. Already a little beak was seen cracking through the third egg. Amy Held, NPR News. Crypto futures prices gained ground, but were treated slightly from session highs, oil up 68 cents a barrel in New York.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.