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Jack Spear
From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Donald Trump hosted Jordan's King Abdullah at the White House today and used it as an opportunity before both to renew his insistence on the US Taking over Gaza and Palestinians moving elsewhere in the Middle East. Questioned by a reporter about statements about the US Owning Gaza, Trump said the US does not need to actually buy it.
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Donald Trump
There's nothing to buy. We will have Gaza.
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Jack Spear
What is that?
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Donald Trump
No reason to buy? There is nothing to buy. It's Gaza. It's a war torn area. We're going to take it, we're going to hold it, we're going to cherish it, we're going to get it going eventually. Where a lot of jobs are going to be created for the people in the Middle East. It's going to be for the people in the Middle east, but I think it can be a diamond.
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Jack Spear
Trump said the US Would ensure peace there and carry out large scale economic development, including building hotels and office buildings. As for accepting refugees from Gaza, Jordan's King Abdullah repeated he opposes that idea. At the White House today, President Trump was joined by billionaire Elon Musk to justify ongoing federal government cost cutting efforts. Musk standing next to the president's Oval Office desk as Trump listed a series of examples of waste and fraud Musk claims to have uncovered as part of his DOGE investigations and asked about whether he's leading a hostile takeover of government. Most pointed to the will of the voters.
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Elon Musk
You couldn't ask for a stronger mandate from the public. The public voted to have a majority of the public voting for President Trump. We won the House, we won the Senate. The people voted for major government reform.
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Jack Spear
Musk said all the actions being carried out by DOGE are transparent, though few details of the alleged fraud found by the entity have actually been made public. Some Democratic members of Congress are speaking out in support of the federal government's weather and climate agency. As NPR's Hansi Luang explains, many civil servants at the national oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are worried about how the Trump administration may try to overhaul the agency.
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Elon Musk
Who do we support?
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Gabe Amo
Noah? Representative Gabe Amo, a Democrat from Rhode island, helped lead this latest rally supporting federal agencies in Washington, D.C. along with Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.
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Jack Spear
We're gathered here as the snow comes down to say one thing. Are we going to let Elon Musk take control of the government? Hello?
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Gabe Amo
It's not clear how Doge, the team within the Trump administration led by Elon Musk or other Trump officials may try to change NOAA. But many NOAA supporters are worried about the Project 2025 plan by far right groups. It calls for dismantling the federal agency that forecasts the weather, monitors the ocean and atmosphere, and manages the country's oceanic fisheries. Hans Zi Luang, NPR News, Washington.
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Jack Spear
Stocks closed mixed on Wall street today. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 123 points. The NASDAQ fell 70 points. The S&P 500 closed up two points today. You're listening to NPR. Two NASA astronauts stuck aboard the International Space Station a bit longer than expected may finally be getting a reprieve. The space agency announcing today astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may come home in mid March instead of late March or April. What was expected to be a quick trip last year to test Boeing's Starliner spacecraft turned into an eight month stay. Problems with the spacecraft prompted NASA to send Starliner home empty. Los Angeles is now looking at how to reduce the risk of extreme wildfires after thousands of homes there were destroyed in January. Some have suggested clearing brush on hillsides, but fire experts say that could only make matters worse. Here's NPR's Lauren Sommer.
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Lauren Sommer
During the Los Angeles fires, President Trump threatened to withhold federal aid over California's wildfire policies. He said the brush and leaves needed to be cleared. That brush is known as chaparral, a unique ecosystem of shrubs. But fire experts say cutting it all down would actually increase the risk of extreme wildfires. When chaparral burns too often, the shrubs can't recover, allowing invasive grasses to move in. Those grasses are even more flammable. The most effective thing, they say, is to focus on making homes safer by using fire resistant building materials and clearing the plants within 5ft of the walls. Lauren Sommer, NPR News.
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Jack Spear
In order to fit it all in, this weekend's 50th anniversary celebration for Saturday Night Live will air Sunday. That's when the three hours required for the cavalcade of appearances and guests from past shows is apparently available on NBC. SNL50. The anniversary celebration will feature appearances by Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy and Paul McCartney. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News, in Washington.
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