NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-12-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: February 12, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Donald Trump says he has spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a range of issues, including the Kremlin's war against Ukraine, and also has now talked to Ukraine's president about it. In a social media post, Trump said his call with Putin was lengthy and highly productive NPR's Daniel Kurtzleben as more. Trump said he and Putin agreed to visit each other's countries and that they agreed to, quote, start negotiations immediately on ending

the war in Ukraine. Trump did not provide details on what negotiations might look like. However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says it's, quote, unrealistic to expect that Ukraine could return to its pre-2014 borders before Russia annexed Crimea. He added that if Ukraine wants a return to those borders, it would prolong the war. Danielle Kertzleib in NPR News, the White House. The White House says Trump expects to meet with Putin in Saudi Arabia. No data has been set yet. The Senate has confirmed Tulsi Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence. NPR's Deidre Walsh reports on the vote which included a no from GOP

Senator Mitch McConnell. Republicans praised Gabbard's plans to reduce inefficiencies and refocus national intelligence. The number two GOP leader John Barrasso stressed her vision for peace through strength. Washington wants to trust our intelligence agencies again. We need to take an axe to the weaponization of these very agencies. Some Senate Republicans cited Gabbard's praise for Edward Snowden, a former contractor who leaked classified material, as an issue. But after Gabbard gave assurances she would guard against unauthorized disclosures, they voted for her.

Gabbard served in the House for eight years as a Democrat, but Senate Democrats argued she didn't have the experience or judgment to lead the agency. Deirdre Walsh, NPR News, The Capital. Mexico says it is not yet ready to slap retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. NPR's Ador Peralta reports Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum is seeking a diplomatic route first. Scheinbaum says instead of beginning a trade war by announcing retaliatory measures, she wants U. wants US and Mexican

officials to talk. Indeed, she said Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente is set to speak to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Mexican government is betting the increased tariffs on aluminum and steel announced by President Trump will never take effect. The government has called them unjust, in part because Mexico runs a trade deficit with the US. The government has called them unjust in part because Mexico runs a trade deficit with the U.S.

Shane Baum says Mexico is ready to talk and negotiate. We're ready for coordination and collaboration, she said, but without interference or subordination. Eri Peralta in PR News, Mexico City. Heavy wet snow and freezing rain that fell from Washington, D.C. to Kentucky caused hundreds of vehicle crashes, left thousands of people in the dark. Now with all that snow melting, there'll be risks of flooding. Earlier today there were about 190,000 customers without power in Virginia, though efforts to get those affected back online are underway.

You are listening to NPR. Astronomers say the chance of an asteroid potentially as big as a football field hitting the Earth in 2032 has now ticked up slightly, but the odds of a miss are than eight years from now. Larry Deneau is co-principal at ATLAS, the University of Hawaii-based group that discovered the asteroid last year. He says detecting these near-Earth objects involves examining lots of grainy photographs for faint signs of movement. And at the very faint end, those grainy parts of the image, you know, are indistinguishable from a faint star that's on there. We're looking for things that unfortunately also happen to look like noise. Scientists say damage from the impact of an object as big as 2024 YR4 could be devastating

if it hit a populated area. Scott Newman, NPR News. Every once in a while, the most famous living beetle still plays at a small venue, and that happened last night in New York at the Bowery Ballroom. While Paul McCartney previously played to 82,000 plus at MetLife Stadium, the crowd last night at the Bowery Ballroom probably numbered fewer than 600. McCartney announced the performance just hours before taking the stage with people rushing trying to snag a ticket. McCartney played through much of his catalog of Beatles classics and Wings hits. He's also taking part in this weekend's Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Show. Crude Oil futures prices gave up some of their recent gains. Oil fell nearly $2

a barrel to $71.37 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.