NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-13-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: February 13, 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 Shay Stevens. President Trump says he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin will likely meet in Saudi Arabia for talks on ending the war in Ukraine.

As NPR's Diva Sivaram reports, Trump says he expects they'll also visit each other's country. Trump didn't provide a date for when he'll first meet with Putin. He also did not commit to traveling to Ukraine, though he said he would think about it. Trump didn't go into detail on what he thinks a peace agreement will look like, but he said he doesn't think it's practical for Ukraine to join NATO, something Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pushing for for years, and Putin is opposed to. They've been saying that for a long time, that Ukraine cannot go into NATO.

And I'm okay with that. Trump's remarks come after the president spoke over the phone with Putin in a lengthy call, after he spoke with Zelensky. Deepa Sivaram, NPR News. The American Civil Liberties Union is suing for access to the dozens of deported migrants being housed at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The ACLU suggests the migrants are deliberately being held in an isolated location in violation of their constitutional rights to due process. The Trump administration is rejecting suggestions that the executive actions that have been issued are causing a constitutional crisis. White House press secretary Caroline Levitt says the problem is the court rulings that

are blocking efforts to shut down several government agencies and functions. We believe that the injunctions that have been issued by these judges have no basis in the law and have no grounds and we will again, as the president said very clearly yesterday, comply with these orders but it is the administration's position that we will again, as the president said very clearly yesterday, comply with these orders, but it is the administration's position that we will ultimately be vindicated. A federal judge is refusing to block the administration's deferred resignations, removing one key hurdle for plans to slash the size of government. The program allowed federal workers to resign in exchange for pay and benefits through the

current fiscal year. The White House says Belarus has three prisoners, including an American. NPR's Michelle Kellerman has more. The U.S. released a convicted Russian money launderer in exchange for an American teacher who spent three years in jail for bringing medical marijuana into Russia.

White House press secretary Caroline Levitt is now confirming a deal with neighboring Belarus. I'm glad you asked. It speaks to President Trump's deal-making ability. And we can confirm the safe release of one American and two individuals from Belarus, one of whom worked for Radio Liberty. She didn't identify them, though Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty thanked the Trump administration for getting its employee Andrzejuznichik out. After more than three years in jail, another employee is still behind bars in the ex-Soviet

state. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, Washington. U.S. futures are higher in after hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR. Senate Democrats remain on the floor of the chamber hoping to block or delay a confirmation vote on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to become Health Secretary. On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as head of national intelligence. A popular EPA tool to help communities in the U.S. find everything from pollution information to demographics was removed last week. But as NPR's Nate Perez reports, an environmental justice group is giving the tool a new home. The EPA removed EJScreen from its website on February 5th. It's part of the move by President Trump to end what he calls radical preferencing. Communities use EJScreen to try to stop polluting developers in their neighborhoods.

The Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, EGGI, archived the tool before it disappeared. Eric Noss with the nonprofit says it's still important to keep this information alive. Making these kinds of complaints and protests to say, hey, there's something going on here. We're an overburdened community. The tool says so. The resources, the data we have say so. EGGI has restored access to the the archive data and is working on making the tool functional once again. Nate Perez, NPR News. The City Council in Fremont, California has voted 6-1 to make it a crime to camp out on public property. Under the ordinance, anyone who aids or bets homeless camps can face up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

It takes effect in 30 days. The move comes after the Supreme Court ruled that it is not cruel and unusual punishment to ban sleeping in public spaces. This is NPR News. On the Throughline Podcast, the myth linking autism and vaccines was decades in the making and was a major moment for vaccine hesitancy in America, tapping into fears involving the pharmaceutical industry and the federal government. No matter how many studies you do showing that this is not a problem, it's very hard

to unring the bell. Listen to Thru Line from NPR, wherever you get your podcasts.