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Live from NPR news in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A Treasury Secretary says the Trump administration is working to put a process in place to negotiate trade deals with as many as 75 countries he says have reached out. As NPR's Tamara Keith explains, the pause in higher tariffs for some countries is meant to give time for negotiations.

During a question and answer session at the end of a cabinet meeting, President Trump was asked

what happens if he isn't able to reach the deals he wants by the end of the 90-day pause.

I mean, if we can't make the deal that we want to make or we have to make or that's good for know, good for both parties. It's got to be good

for both parties. And then we go back to where we were. That is back to tariff levels of more

than 40 percent for some key trading partners. Asked if the pause could be extended, he said,

we'll have to see what happens at that time. Most imports still face a 10% baseline tariff imposed by Trump, and tariffs on China are now up to 145%.

Tamara Keith, NPR News, the White House.

The Trump administration is further backing off a plan that would have required many Americans to travel in-person for services at the Social Security

Administration. Those changes were set to go into effect Monday. NPR's Ashley Lopez reports.

A spokesperson for the White House says in a statement to NPR that telephone services will continue

for people seeking social security benefits. Last month, agency officials announced people would

have to travel in

person to a local office if they were unable to use the agency's online verification system.

The policy would have effectively eliminated widely used telephone services for many beneficiaries.

But White House officials say the agency's anti-fraud team has improved technological capabilities,

allowing workers to identify fraud on claims over the telephone.

Advocates are applauding the reversal, which came after intense public pressure against the proposed changes.

Ashley Lopez, NPR News.

The Israeli military is seizing larger areas of Gaza and turning them into expanded buffer zones.

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