NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-08-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: February 9, 2025

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This is Ira Glass with This American Life, each week on our show. We choose a theme, tell different stories on that theme. All right, I'm just going to stop right there. You're listening to an NPR podcast, chances are you know our show. So instead, I'm going to tell you, we've just been on a run of really good shows lately. Some big epic emotional stories, some weird funny stuff too.. That was This American Life. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. A federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily halted the Trump administration's plan to get federal employees to leave their jobs by accepting delayed resignation letters.

The judge will hold a hearing on Monday on a legal challenge to the plan. The original deadline to accept the offer has been extended now to Monday at midnight. And as Frank Morris of Member Station KCUR reports, most federal workers live outside D.C. In Kansas City, the federal government is by far the largest employer with close to 30,000 employees, including for the IRS, EPA, and Social Security Administration. Elon Musk is trying to slash the federal workforce. He's targeting an immediate 10% cut.

Economist Frank Link with the Mid-America Regional Council says that in Kansas City, that would be almost as bad as losing a major auto assembly plant. Overall for every federal job is another job created in the metro. So they're powerful jobs from that standpoint. The buyout offer is tied up in court, at least until Monday. For NPR News, I'm Frank Morris in Kansas City. Top House Republicans are working this weekend on a proposal to try to implement President Trump's legislative priorities, including cuts to government programs, tax breaks, and

an extension of the nation's debt limit to allow for more borrowing. NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports the House and Senate, though, have two different plans. The Senate wants to do two bills, one for the border and energy and the other on tax cuts. They're concerned that a tax bill could be too complicated to pass quickly. And instead, they want to move forward with things that they think they can pass relatively soon

and then return later this year for that second package. But top House Republicans want to tackle the agenda with one bill that encompasses everything. They're worried if they delay the tax element, it could be jeopardized altogether. And here's Barbara Sprund. The current stopgap bill runs through March 14th. After that, without congressional action, there could be a partial government shutdown. More than three decades after declaring their independence from the Soviet Union, the Baltic nations of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have ended their reliance on Russia's energy grid, disconnecting from the systems today as they switch to a European power supply. And Piers Charles-Maines reports. Though

the Baltic countries decision to switch to European power had long been in the works, the push to sever electrical ties with Russia sped up significantly in the wake of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Baltic government officials have framed cutting the cord as a matter of national security, arguing any remaining connection to Russian energy left their nations open to blackmail or sabotage. The move comes amid a spate of mysterious attacks on fiber optic, gas and power cables in in the Baltic Sea over which Russia and the West have traded blame. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will now operate independently for 24 hours before joining the EU's power grid via Finland, Poland, and Sweden starting Sunday. Charles Maines, NPR News.

And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. The Alaska state legislature is urging President Trump to reverse his decision to rename North America's tallest peak as Mount McKinley. Alaska Public Media's Eric Stone reports. Trump issued the order renaming Denali after President William McKinley on his first day back in office, saying McKinley was a, quote, natural businessman who, quote, made our country very rich through tariffs. State Senator Scott Kawasaki, a Fairbanks Democrat, says the name Denali has deep roots

in Alaska's history and indigenous culture. Alaskans and travelers from around the world have known it to be Denali. The Athabaskan people have lived in the interior for thousands of years and for thousands of years have embraced Denali as its proper name. Alaska renamed the landmark Denali in 1975 and formally requested the federal government do the same. The Obama administration did so in 2015 over objections from the delegation in McKinley's home state of Ohio. The resolution opposing the renaming passed with bipartisan support including for many conservative Republicans. For NPR News, I'm Eric Stone in Juneau, Alaska.

In New Orleans... including from many conservative Republicans. For NPR News, I'm Eric Stone in Juneau, Alaska. In New Orleans. ["The Stars and Stripes Forever"] Festivities are underway today with a Mardi Gras style parade with floats, bands, and beads. This is all ahead of tomorrow's Super Bowl 59 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. And if the Chiefs win tomorrow, it will be their third time in a row. Rap megastar Kendrick Lamar is performing at the halftime show.

This all amid tight security after a man drove a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street on New Year's Day, killing more than a dozen people. I'm Janene Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. Donald Trump is starting his second term as president. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington.