NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-11-2025 12PM EST

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

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At the Super Bowl halftime show, Kendrick Lamar indeed performed his smash diss track Not Like Us and brought out Samuel L. Jackson, Serena Williams, and SZA. We're recapping the Super Bowl, including why we saw so many celebrities in commercials this year. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump is hosting Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House today, their meeting taking place against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire and hostages for prisoners agreement

between Israel and Hamas and Gaza. Yesterday, Trump proposed a ceasefire be canceled if Hamas does not release all remaining hostages taken since the start of the war. Trump has also promoted Israel hand control of Gaza to the United States and relocate the Palestinian people to other parts of the Middle East, an idea strongly opposed by Arab governments across the region. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the central bank's not in a hurry to continue cutting interest rates. We know that reducing policy restraint too fast or too much could hinder progress on inflation. Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee today, Powell says inflation is still somewhat

elevated over the Fed's 2% goal, but has eased significantly over the past two years. U.S. embassies are struggling to oversee humanitarian aid the Trump administration is allowing to go through. That's according to the inspector general of the Embattled U.S. Agency for International Development. Here's NPR's Michelle Kellerman. When the Trump administration came to office, it put most foreign aid on hold,

but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has allowed for emergency humanitarian relief to continue. The trouble is, USAID staff around the world have been getting mixed signals, State Marco Rubio has allowed for emergency humanitarian relief to continue. The trouble is USAID staff around the world have been getting mixed signals, losing access to their emails and being put on administrative leave before a judge temporarily halted that. Now USAID's inspector general is reporting that the agency has limited ability to oversee what aid is going through. There's food aid at risk of spoilage, according to the report,

and a concern that there's not enough staff to vet partners in the Middle East to make sure U.S. taxpayer money is not benefiting terrorist groups. Michelle Killiman, NPR News, the State Department. The first of three predicted storms packing a little bit of everything winter has to offer is on the move. NPR's Jyle Snyder with details. The first storm is moving east out of Kansas where Governor Laura Kelly has declared a state of emergency.

The storm will bring significant snow and ice accumulations to the mid-Atlantic. Winter storm warnings extend from Kentucky to southern New Jersey. And Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has also declared an emergency amid warnings of treacherous travel conditions and potential power outages. On the heels of the first storm, another round of heavy snow from a second storm is expected from Kansas and Missouri into the Great Lakes and will be on the East Coast by Thursday morning. A third significant storm is expected to bring the threat of flooding to California, especially to areas devastated by last month's wildfires around Los Angeles. Trial Snider, NPR News. The Dow is up 45 points.

The Nasdaq is down 94. You're listening to NPR News. Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a keynote speech at an AI summit in Paris where he promoted the Trump administration's support for less regulation of the artificial intelligence industry as U.S. allies in Europe pursue tighter regulation. Vance says AI systems developed in the U.S. would be free from ideological bias. The vice president also is scheduled to attend a security conference in Munich where he's expected to discuss Russia's war against Ukraine and press for more ally commitments to NATO. The head of the European Union,

Ursula von der Leyen, warns of backlash if US tariffs on steel and aluminum take effect March 12th. She says a levy will set off tough countermeasures from the 27-nation bloc. The European Space Agency's unveiled photos of a rare March 12th, she says a levy will set off tough countermeasures from the 27 nation block. The European Space Agency's unveiled photos of a rare phenomenon encircling a galaxy millions of miles away from Earth, and PRS Shondali Suster has more. The bright ring of light surrounding the galaxy is called an Einstein ring. It is created when light from a distant galaxy bends and forms a ring that looks aligned with another galaxy or massive object.

It is the first time the ring of light is detected by Euclid, a space telescope on a mission to create a map of the universe. Jacqueline McCleary, a professor of physics at Northeastern University, says scientists were able to find the ring because of the telescope's high-resolution instruments. With other previous generations of telescope, this Einstein ring was essentially drowned

out by the light of this big galaxy. Astronomers hope the telescope will discover more Einstein rings in the future. That's Shondali Stuster reporting. It's NPR. NPR covers the stories that shape our world. Whether you're here for news or culture or good conversation, we're proud to be here for you. Federal funding helps keep the public radio network strong and available to all for about

$1.60 per person each year. Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org to learn more about safeguarding public media's future.