NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-13-2025 3AM 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 Shea Stevens. The Trump administration is rejecting suggestions that the president's executive actions are creating a constitutional crisis.

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the threat is coming from the court actions that are blocking Trump's 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 also ultimately be vindicated. A federal judge in Boston has removed a key hurdle to the administration's deferred resignations. The program allows federal workers to resign and continue receiving pay and benefits through

September or risk being laid off. Relatives of three deported Venezuelan migrants being held at Guantanamo Bay are suing the Trump administration. As NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran reports, the plaintiffs want the government to allow attorneys to have access to the detainees. The lawsuit was filed at the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. The plaintiffs say the Trump administration is thwarting access to counsel for immigrants in detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They also say the government is holding the immigrants in

comunicado without access to attorneys, family or the outside world. The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the families and four immigrant rights groups, says it wants to ensure immigrants can meet with lawyers. The Trump administration has said it's sending to Guantanamo the worst criminals. They are in maximum security there. However, some of those being sent to the barracks facility reportedly include migrants who do not have criminal records. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News, Austin.

The Trump Appointed Board that now oversees the Kennedy Center of Performing Arts has elected President Trump as its chairman. NPR's Neda Ulubi has more. Until recently, that board was an even mix of Republicans and Democrats. But last week, the president purged the board of its 18 Democratic members. In a statement, the Kennedy Center said there was nothing in its stature preventing such actions. It seems the president's displeasure with the nation's premier cultural center is, according to a social media, based on

a couple of drag performances the Kennedy Center hosted last year. The president has, by his own admission, never attended the Kennedy Center. During his last administration, he skipped the Kennedy Center Honors, which vetted several entertainers who have been critical of his policies. Neda Ulipe, NPR News. Several European nations say Ukraine and Europe must be included in any negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine. The nations issued a statement after President Trump announced plans for as-yet-scheduled ceasefire talks with Russian President Putin.

Trump declined to say whether Ukraine's president would play an equal role in the talks. This is NPR. Democrats held the Senate floor into the overnight hours to oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to become head of Health and Human Services. They were hoping to convince Republicans to join their effort to block Kennedy's confirmation, saying he is not qualified for the post. On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as head of national intelligence.

A majority of American Jews say they're changing their behaviors due to a fear of anti-Semitism. NPR's Jason DeRose has more on a new report from the American Jewish Committee. Jason DeRose The last three years have shown a steady increase in the percentage of Jews who say they're doing things differently out of a fear of anti-Jewish prejudice. The American Jewish Committee, which is a civil rights advocacy group, is calling this an all-hands-on-deck moment. The survey also found that just over three-quarters of American Jews say they feel less safe in the U.S. because of the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel. The report identifies four significant sources

of anti-Semitism, but it calls the extreme political right, the extreme political left, extremism in the name of Islam, and Christian nationalism. The report is based on two surveys in late 2024, one of more than 1,700 Jews and one of just over 2,000 members of the general public. Jason DeRose, NPR News. A Pacific storm prompted evacuation warnings for parts of Los Angeles County that had been devastated by recent wildfires. Forecasters say the storm's heaviest rainfall was expected to begin this morning and could cause flooding and mudslides in damaged areas.

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.