NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-11-2025 2AM EST

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

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Shae Stevens. President Trump is back in Washington, pursuing major policy changes on his own terms. We know from the past that means challenging precedent, busting norms, and pushing against the status quo. NPR is covering it all with Trump's Terms, a podcast where we curate stories about the 47th president with a focus on how he is upending the way Washington works. Listen to Trump's Term terms from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. Unions representing 800,000 federal workers have again asked a judge to strike down the

Trump administration's deferred resignations, calling them illegal, confusing, and rushed. Government attorneys have defended the program as being a humane off-ramp that would allow the workers to resign with pay. After an hour-long meeting on Monday, NPR's Andrea Hsu reports that the federal judge issued another temporary ruling on the matter. The judge really said very little today, but right after the hearing, Elena Goldstein, the attorney for the labor unions, spoke to reporters outside and announced that the judge had extended the pause he issued last week, And here's what else she had to say. We hope that this decision today will provide civil service workers with the assurance that

the American people have their backs and we will continue to pursue all legal options to ensure that they are protected and that the law is upheld. In a short while later, the court clerk entered a note into the docket that said the current stay remains in effect until further order of the court. NPR's Andrea Shue reporting. The National Endowment for the Arts is changing its grant guidelines for 2026 to comply with President Trump's executive orders

on diversity, equity, and inclusion. As Jeff London reports, an NEA program that provided grants to underserved groups is already canceled. At $210 million, the NEA is a drop in the federal budget, but a lifeline for many arts organizations. And the new guidelines mean that to get funding, these groups will need to change policies that are often intrinsic to their missions.

Challenge America is a program which funded arts projects that extend the reach of the arts to underserved groups and communities that may have limited access to the arts relative to geography, ethnicity, economic status, and or disability. It's been canceled outright. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. The Trump administration is touting the resumption of deportation flights to Venezuela. More from NPR's Carrie Kahn. Two Venezuelan Conviasa Airlines planes left Fort Bliss, Texas Monday with migrants on

board according to Venezuela's communications ministry. The White House announced the resumption of deportation flights on social media with the line, Make America Safe Again. Venezuela's communications ministry. The White House announced the resumption of deportation flights on social media with the line Make America Safe Again. Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro, had been refusing to accept deportees after relations between the U.S. and his government broke over his increasingly authoritarian rule. Flights were briefly reinstated under the Biden administration but halted again last year after the U.S. reimposed sanctions following presidential elections widely seen as stolen by Maduro. Trump advisor Richard Grinnell recently traveled to Venezuela securing the deal and returning with six Americans detained

by the Maduro government. Carrie Cahn, NPR News. You're listening to NPR. You're listening to NPR. President Trump has pardoned Rod Blagojevich. The former Illinois governor served eight years of a 14-year sentence for his conviction of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by Barack Obama in 2008. Blagojevich was a contestant on season nine of Trump's reality show Celebrity Apprentice. The Justice Department has ordered prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

From member station WNYC, Brigid Bergen has that story. In a memo from the Justice Department to prosecutors in Manhattan's Southern District, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bové said the office should dismiss the case against Mayor Adams. He was indicted on five criminal counts in September in connection with a scheme where he was accused of accepting illegal foreign campaign contributions and luxury travel perks in exchange for official favors from his administration.

Adams has denied any wrongdoing. His trial was scheduled for April, but the memo directs prosecutors to drop the charges claiming they were filed too close to Adams re-election bid this year and that the case could impede his ability to help the Trump administration with immigration enforcement. For NPR News, I'm Brigid Bergen in New York. Federal health officials are confirming that a person in Nevada contracted a new type of bird flu. The CDC says a dairy farm worker in Churchill County developed mild symptoms but recovered. The new strain that began spreading in herds last year has also been seen in more than a dozen people

who were exposed to poultry. The CDC says there is no evidence of the virus spreading from human to human. This is NPR News.