NPR News: 02-07-2025 1PM EST

Summary

NPR News Now: February 7, 2025, 1PM EST

Hosted by Lakshmi Singh

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U.S. Politics: President Trump Hosts Japanese Prime Minister Amid Controversy Over Elon Musk’s Government Role

Host Introduction Lakshmi Singh opened the episode by highlighting President Donald Trump's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House. The discussion quickly shifted to a contentious issue involving Elon Musk.

Time Magazine Cover Controversy At [00:24], an unnamed reporter questioned President Trump about the new Time magazine cover featuring Elon Musk sitting behind his Resolute Desk.

President Trump's Reaction Donald Trump responded dismissively at [00:40]:

“Is Time magazine still in business? I didn't even know that.”

Defense of Elon Musk Lakshmi Singh continued at [00:44], noting that Trump defended Musk, who is overseeing the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. Trump lauded Musk’s efforts in combating fraud and corruption within federal agencies:

“He's finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste. You see it with the USAID, but you're going to see it even more so with other agencies and other parts of government.” [00:50]

Democratic Concerns Over Conflicts of Interest Lakshmi Singh reported on Democratic concerns regarding Musk’s dual roles, emphasizing potential conflicts of interest due to his ownership of companies like SpaceX, which holds billions in federal contracts.

Expert Opinion: Kathleen Clark At [01:15], Kathleen Clark, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, criticized the White House’s stance on conflicts of interest:

“It's absurd to rely on Elon Musk to recognize and then respond to his own conflicts of interest. The only place in the federal government that relies on officials to police their own conflicts is the U.S. Supreme Court.” [01:27]

She highlighted that SpaceX received over $19 billion in federal contracts since 2008, with nearly $4 billion awarded in 2024 alone [01:42].

House Democrats Clash with the White House Over Education Department Shutdown

Lakshmi Singh detailed an attempt by over two dozen House Democrats to engage with senior leaders regarding Trump's plan to eliminate the Department of Education. At [02:07], an unnamed Acting Secretary responded by informing the Democrats they could not enter the meeting:

“Acting secretary for a meeting and to answer a simple question, and she is.” [02:07]

Security subsequently locked the doors, preventing further interaction.

Republican Leaders Push Forward with Budget Plans

House Republicans' Budget Framework Claudia Grizales reported at [02:24] that House Republican leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, met with President Trump at the White House for approximately five hours. Trump's involvement in the first hour was pivotal in urging the group to finalize their budget plan.

Senate’s Parallel Efforts Simultaneously, Senate leaders are working on their proposal, slated for a meeting with Trump in Florida over the weekend. The anticipated spending plan is expected to include:

• Funding for new projects along the U.S.-Mexico border
• Extensions of tax breaks from Trump's first term
• Other campaign promise initiatives

European Politics: Nationalist Parties Convene in Madrid

Gathering under "Make Europe Great Again" Lakshmi Singh reported that leaders of several nationalist European parties, including Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, and France’s Marine Le Pen, are set to meet in Madrid under the banner “Make Europe Great Again.” The summit, organized by the Patriots for Europe group—the third largest in the European Parliament—reflects the rising influence of radical right movements across Europe.

Key Agendas and Absences Guy Hedgko of the BBC noted that the meeting, hosted by Spain's Vox Party, emphasizes priorities similar to those of Donald Trump, such as stricter immigration controls and the rollback of green policies in sectors like farming [03:36]. Notably absent from the Patriots group are Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AFD) party and Italy’s Brothers of Italy led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Economic Update: U.S. Stock Markets Decline

Lakshmi Singh provided a brief economic update, indicating a downturn in U.S. stock markets:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down by approximately 300 points.
• The Nasdaq has decreased by nearly 1%, and the Dow is down roughly half a percent [04:44].

Health News: Surge in Respiratory Viruses

Unusual Trends in Respiratory Infections Rob Stein from NPR explained at [04:19] that the current surge in respiratory illnesses may be attributed to two factors:

1. An unusually intense summer COVID-19 surge, which commenced later than typical, leaving populations with lingering immunity.
2. The phenomenon of viral interference, where the presence of one virus suppresses the prevalence of others.

These factors combined have led to increased instances of coughing, sneezing, and fevers across the United States [04:06].

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Market Overview As of [04:52], U.S. stock markets remain subdued:

• The Nasdaq is down nearly 1%.
• The Dow has fallen by approximately half a percent.

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This summary provides a comprehensive overview of the key topics discussed in the NPR News Now episode aired on February 7, 2025. For more detailed information, listeners are encouraged to tune into the full episode.

Transcript

[Carvana]

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[Lakshmi Singh]

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House and took a series of questions from reporters a short time ago, including this.

[Unnamed Reporter]

Mr. President, do you have a reaction to the new Time magazine cover that has Elon Musk sitting behind your Resolute desk?

[Donald Trump]

Is Time magazine still in business? I didn't even know that.

[Lakshmi Singh]

Trump then defended his close advisor, Elon Musk, the man now in charge of the entity called the Department of Government Efficiency.

[Donald Trump]

He's finding tremendous fraud and corruption and waste. You see it with the usaid, but you're going to see it even more so with other agencies and other parts of government.

[Lakshmi Singh]

Meanwhile, congressional Democrats are warning of potential conflicts of interest when it comes to Musk's role in the federal government. NPR's Windsor Johnson reports that Musk owns companies, including SpaceX, that have billions of dollars in federal contracts.

[Kathleen Clark]

When questioned about Elon Musk's government contracts, the White House says that he will police his own conflicts of interest. Kathleen Clark is a professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

It's absurd to rely on Elon Musk to recognize and then respond to his own conflicts of interest. The only place in the federal government that relies on officials to police their own conflicts is the U.S. supreme Court.

According to USASpending.gov, spaceX received more than $19 billion in federal contracts since 2008. In 2024, Musk's company received nearly 4 billion. Windsor Johnston, NPR News, Washington.

[Lakshmi Singh]

More than two dozen House Democrats tried to push their way into the Department of Education this morning to speak with senior leaders about Trump's plan to eliminate the agency.

[Unnamed Acting Secretary]

Acting secretary for a meeting and to answer a simple question, and she is.

[Lakshmi Singh]

Security locked the doors before the Democratic lawmakers could enter. House Republicans are racing to unveil a new framework for a budget plan as early as today. NPR's Claudia Grizales has the latest.

[Claudia Grizales]

House Republican leaders, including Speaker Mike Johnson, met at the White House for about five hours on Thursday in hopes of reaching a final plan. President Trump was part of the first hour of the meeting urging the group to get it done. Senate leaders are also racing to put together their own proposal to be unveiled during a meeting with Trump in Florida this weekend. The spending plan is expected to include provisions to fund new projects along the U S. Mexico border extend tax breaks approved during Trump's first term, as well as other campaign promises. Claudi Grizales, NPR News.

[Lakshmi Singh]

U.S. stocks are trading lower this hour. The dow is down 300 points. This is NPR. Leaders of several nationalist European parties are due to gather in Madrid under the slogan Make Europe Great Again. The Hungarian prime Minister, Viktor Orban, the Italian deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, and France's Marine Le Pen are expected to attend. The Patriots for Europe group, which convened the meeting, is the third biggest in the European Parliament. The BBC's Guy Hedgko reports.

[Guy Hedgko]

This two day summit hosted by Spain's Vox Party, comes as a radical right is performing strongly in many countries. However, Germany's AFD is a notable absence from the Patriots group, as is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party. Buoyed by the return of Donald Trump to the US Presidency, the group seems to share his main priorities. They include tighter immigration controls and rolling back green policies in areas such as farming.

[Lakshmi Singh]

That's the BBC's Guy Hetchko reporting. In the United States, respiratory viruses are making the rounds. But as NPR's Rob Stein tells us, there are a couple of unusual trends driving all the coughing, sneezing and fevers this year.

[Rob Stein]

One possible explanation is that we went through an unusually intense summer Covid surge that also started relatively late. So lots of people may still have some immunity from when they had Covid this summer and no new variant has evolved that's any better about at getting around the immunity people have built up. There's also a theory called viral interference. That's when the presence of one virus kind of pushes out other viruses.

[Lakshmi Singh]

NPR's Rob Stein reporting. The Nasdaq is down nearly 1%. The Dow has fallen roughly half a %. This is NPR.

[Carvana]

Listen to this podcast sponsor, free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now [e-mail] that's plus.NPR.org.