NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-07-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: March 7, 2025

NPR News: 03-07-2025 7AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. President Trump spoke to reporters at the White House yesterday discussing a range of topics. He's again expressing doubt about NATO's mutual defense pact. And bears Franco Ordoñez reports Trump said the same thing when he was previously in office. A week ago, Trump said he would support the key provision of NATO that requires members to come to the defense of another if attacked. But now he's told reporters at the White House that the U.S. may not defend allies if they

don't spend enough on their militaries. Well, I think it's common sense, right? If they don't pay, I'm not going to defend them. No, I'm not going to defend them. I got into a lot of heat when I said that. You said, oh, he's violating NATO. Trump has regularly sent mixed signals about U.S. support for NATO. He long pushed allies in the alliance to increase their spending on defense, charging that the

U.S. should not have to carry such a high financial burden of European security. Franco Ordonez, NPR News, The White House. In separate remarks, Trump said he told his cabinet that they are in charge of staff reductions, not billionaire Elon Musk. And here's Bobby Allen reports Trump seems to be reigning in Musk's authority. Since Trump took office, Musk has been exerting wide and unusual control over federal agencies. In his capacity as a special government employee in the White House, Musk has pushed the termination of thousands of federal workers and the near total dissolution of some agencies.

In his big speech to Congress this week, Trump praised Musk for doing it. But now Trump is telling his cabinet and other officials they are in charge of policy and firings, not Musk. Elon has been really teaching everybody about the numbers that you can do. But what I want is I want the numbers, but I also want to keep the good people. This follows lawmakers of both parties raising concerns about Musk's chainsaw approach. Bobbi Allen, NPR News. Trump is hosting a cryptocurrency summit at the White House today. He assigned an executive order creating a U.S. reserve of the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. Critics allege the crypto reserve is a scheme that will only benefit crypto investors. NPR's Deepa Sivaram reports the president has a personal stake in cryptocurrency.

Trump was seen as a very crypto-friendly presidential candidate. He received a lot of financial support from people in the crypto industry. And during the campaign, Trump also rolled out his own crypto venture called World Liberty Financial that's run by Trump's kids, but he has a sizable financial stake in it. And right before inauguration, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump rolled out their own meme coins. That's a kind of cryptocurrency that the SEC recently said is not subject to oversight, which has raised questions about conflicts of interest.

And Piers Deepa Shivram reporting. A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to pay the money it owes to some global health groups. Their payment stopped when President Trump froze U.S. foreign aid. The judge says the Trump administration has until Monday at 6 p.m. Eastern time to pay the groups. This is NPR. Health officials in New Mexico say an adult

has died of measles. The person was not vaccinated against the disease. The New Mexico resident lived near the border with Texas. A measles outbreak in West Texas has sickened nearly 160 people and killed an unvaccinated child. Today marks 60 years since members of law enforcement attacked civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama. This has become known as Bloody Sunday.

NPR's Debbie Elliott reports the violence that day shocked the nation, helped win support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Protesters were starting a march from Selma to Montgomery to demand equal voting rights on March 7th, 1965. But they were stopped on Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge by state troopers wielding batons and tear gas.

Alabama Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Selma says what took place there changed the face of American politics. I hope that we, during the 60th anniversary, have an opportunity not just to remember and not just to reflect, but to rededicate ourselves to the cause for which those foot soldiers marched. Sewell has introduced a bill to restore parts of the Voting Rights Act the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2013. Debbie Elliott, NPR News, Selma.

The European railroad company, Eurostarar has canceled all its high-speed trains between London and Belgium today. Workers have found an unexploded World War II bomb. It's near the tracks just outside of Paris. I'm Korva Kuhlman, NPR News.