NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-12-2025 1AM EST

Episode Date: February 12, 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 Shae Stevens. An American held in Russia for three and a half years, says he's the luckiest man in the world and calls President Trump a hero.

63-year-old Mark Vogel was greeted by Trump after returning to the U.S. late Tuesday. He also expressed gratitude to Russia's president. President Putin was very generous and statesmanlike in granting me a pardon. Pafogle was sentenced to 14 years in prison in Russia after being arrested at an airport in August 2021 for possession of medical marijuana. The Trump administration says his release was negotiated as part of an unspecified exchange. President Trump is offering guidance on how federal agencies can adhere to sweeping changes that are being made by the Department of Government efficiency or DOGE.

Trump says the office run by billionaire Elon Musk is finding what he called tremendous fraud and abuse but offered no details. In a joint Oval Office appearance with Trump, Musk defended efforts to radically change the federal government. He also downplayed conflict of interest concerns about his efforts to cut government funding and regulation. Musk receives billions of taxpayer dollars for his private companies, Tesla and SpaceX.

PBS is shutting down its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion office. As NPR's Chloe Veltman reports, the move follows President Trump's executive order to curtail DEI initiatives in the workplace. In a statement shared with NPR, PBS said it is closing its DEI office to ensure compliance with the order. The statement said DEI staff members are leaving the company and that the public broadcaster would continue to stick to its mission and values. PBS also shared a memo sent to staff by President and

CEO Paula Kerger, stating that it has been working with legal counsel to understand how the executive order would potentially impact the organization. PBS and NPR received some federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. NPR did not respond to questions about its diversity office. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell says there is no need for the central bank to speed up interest rate cuts. NPR's Scott Horsey reports on Powell's testimony before Senate panel. Powell told the Senate Banking Committee that while inflation has eased significantly, prices

are still climbing faster than the central bank would like. The job market is also in a solid state, so the feds expect to hold interest rates steady for some time to come. Louisiana Senator John Kennedy gave Powell and his fed colleagues credit for helping to curb inflation without dipping the economy into recession. Things aren't perfect. Inflation is obviously still sticky, but knock on wood. We have experienced a soft landing.

Powell declined to comment on President Trump's new tariffs, which could put more upward pressure on prices. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR. Canada and the European Union are threatening swift retaliation over President Trump's order to slap tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his nation's response will be firm and clear. European Union Chief Ursula von der Leyen calls Trump's action deeply regrettable and

unjustified. She also says the EU will take action to safeguard its economic interests. This week's Billboard charts are out, and for several big stars, the so-called Grammy bump is real. NPR's Stephen Thompson explains. The new number one album in the country is Hurry Up Tomorrow by The Weeknd. Take it easy on me baby cause I tried my best The Weeknd.

The Weeknd is one of many artists who rose on this week's Billboard charts following their performances at the Grammy Awards earlier this month. While The Weeknd's album is brand new, older albums by Chappell Rhone, Benson Boone, and Dochi also rose dramatically on this week's charts. But maybe the biggest boost of all went to the Grammys' Album of the Year winner. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter had dropped all the way off the Billboard 200. This week it re-enters the chart at number 19. Stephen Thompson, NPR News.

A five-year-old giant schnauzer named Monty has won the Best in Show title at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. This year's competition marked the event's return to New York's Madison Square Garden for the first time in four years. This is NPR News. Support for NPR and the following message

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