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- [00:00]
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Jack Spear
News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Billionaire Elon Musk is leaving his post as a senior advisor to President Donald Trump. But as the clock ticks down, it appears the two are looking to present a united front. Trump on social media tonight says he and Musk will hold a press conference tomorrow. NPR's Stephen Fowler says Musk's trip to Washington ends on something of a mixed note.
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Stephen Fowler
Normally special government employees have this 130 day time limit. Tomorrow would be 130 days from when Musk started and Trump took office if you assume Musk was working every day on Doge. Also, Musk technically and according to the White House legally was never actually in charge of Doge. So he probably could have gone a lot longer. But, but a lot of his comments and Doge's actions have been unpopular.
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Jack Spear
Musk was brought in to help reduce the size of government and cut costs. However, earlier this week he expressed disappointment with the administration's massive spending bill, which actually increases the deficit by trillions of dollars. The U.S. supreme Court narrowly has or has narrowed the scope rather of a key environmental statute today, making it easier to win approval for highways, bridges, pipelines, wind farms and and other infrastructure projects. More from NPR's Nina Totenberg.
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Nina Totenberg
The National Environmental Policy act, known as NEPA, enacted in 1970, sets up a regulatory regime under which the federal government seeks information from a wide array of agencies about what the impact would be for proposed infrastructure projects before they're built. Today, the Supreme Court took a major whack at the 55 year old law, ruling for the first time that courts should defer to agency determinations as long as they fall within a broad zone of reasonableness. Writing for the court majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that the goal of the law is to inform how projects are built, not hamstring them. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.
- [02:11]
Jack Spear
President Trump's on again, off again. Tariffs are, for the moment back on again. That's after a federal appeals court temporarily put on hold a ruling made Yesterday by the U.S. court of International Trade to block nearly all of Trump's tariffs. Latest action was not a ruling on merits of the case, but an administrative stay asking companies that challenge the tariffs to present their arguments next week. NPR's Scott Horsley says the White House continues to say it's the president's call to make.
- [02:37]
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The stakes here are enormous. The president has imposed the highest tariffs this country has seen since the Great Depression. And while he has backed off on some of those import taxes, the White House maintains he could reimpose them anytime with just a social media post.
- [02:51]
Jack Spear
NPR's Scott Horsley. Financial markets have been whipsawed by the constant changes in administration policy, though today markets showed little reaction. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 117 points to close at 42,215. The NASDAQ was up 74 points to 19,175. The S&P 500 gained 23 points today. You're listening to NPR. Out of control fires in the Canadian province of Manitoba are forcing the evacuation of 17,000 people. As NPR's Jackie Northam reports, a province wide state of emergency has been declared as the fires are expected to spread.
- [03:31]
Jackie Northam
The wildfires, sparked by prolonged dry conditions, have burned nearly half a million acres in Manitoba, and winds are blowing thick smoke southwards into parts of the Midwestern states. Provincial Premier Wab Kanu, says this is the largest evacuation Manitoba will have seen in most people's living memory. Canada's military is being deployed to help with firefighting and evacuations, including emergency flights. Most people are expected to head to the provincial capital of Winnipeg, where they'll be housed at arenas and community centers. There are more than 130 fires burning across Canada. Most are in two other western provinces, Alberta and British Columbia. About half of the fires are considered out of control. Jackie Northam, NPR News.
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Jack Spear
Most of a Swiss alpine village has been destroyed after a large mass of rock and ice from a huge glacier thundered down a mountainside there. Authorities say the dirt, mud and debris covered up to 90% of the village, which had been mostly evacuated due to warnings. Still, police say one person is missing following the incident. Scientists say global warming has accelerated the retreat of glaciers in Switzerland. The landslide from the glacier also blocked a river there, raising fears of flooding. Crude oil futures prices lost ground today. Oil fell 90 cents a barrel to settle at 60, 94 a barrel. In New York, I'm Jack Spear, NPR News, in Washington.
- [04:56]
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