NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-13-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: February 13, 2025

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JANINE HERPST. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janine Herpst. The Prime Minister of India is in Washington, D.C. to meet with President Trump, but first, he met with tech billionaire Elon Musk. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, Musk is also currently a special government employee, leading a project to slash the size of the federal government. TAMARA KEITH. Musk still owns Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink,

and the social media site X. Modi's account on X posted a photo of the prime minister meeting with Musk with American and Indian flags behind them. Of the meeting, President Trump said he assumed Musk wants to do business with India. I would imagine he met possibly because he's running a company.

He's doing this as something that he's felt strongly about for a long time because he sees what's happening and he sees how the country is really being hurt badly by all of the fraud, waste and abuse. Trump continues to downplay the risk of any conflict of interest between Musk's business dealings and his government role. Tamara Keith, NPR News. TAMARA KEITH, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS A federal judge has extended for another week the pause on the Trump administration's plan to put thousands of federal employees of the

U.S. Agency for International Development on paid leave. NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports the judge is expected to release another ruling on that controversial plan next week. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, has ruled to keep blocking the Trump administration from putting more than 2,000 USAID workers on leave. Federal government employee union is leading this lawsuit to challenge the administration's efforts to gut the agency and stop most foreign aid. In court, the administration's attorneys argued it's conducting a review of USAID's work to make sure it's aligned with Trump's foreign policy.

But its challengers say the administration is overstepping its limited authority over an independent federal agency created by Congress. Before the judge issues another ruling next week, the administration is expected to tell the court how it plans to ensure the safety of overseas USAID employees is not put at risk if they are put on leave and lose access to work email and security warnings. Anzila Wang, NPR News, Washington. Scores of early career federal employees are being fired from several agencies today. NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports on the firings at the Department of Energy.

Two officials at the Energy Department confirmed the firings to NPR. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. The firings are of so-called probationary employees who have worked for less than two years in the federal government. According to one of the sources, the employees are being fired without notice or severance. The Energy Department conducts a wide variety of activities, everything from funding renewables to carrying out fundamental science to maintaining the nation's nuclear weapons. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News, Washington.

Wall Street, higher by the closing bell. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A South Texas judge has ordered an election to decide whether to incorporate Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship launch site as a New Texas city. Texas Public Radio's Mary Ann Navarro has more. The general manager of Starbase has said creating a New Texas city would make it easier to build amenities for SpaceX employees and others living near the SpaceX launch site. SpaceX filed a petition in December to local officials asking to make Starbase an incorporated territory.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino says the petition met all statutory requirements and was signed by at least 10 percent of qualified voters, as required by law. The election will be held during the general May 3 election in Brownsville. If approved, Starbase would be a Type C Texas municipality, which has less than 5,000 residents and functions with the mayor and two commissioners. I'm Marianne Navarro in San Antonio. Household debt in the U.S. has risen to a new all-time high of just over $18 trillion. A report released today by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

says that includes credit cards, mortgages, auto, and student loans. For credit cards, the report says Americans' total balances now stand at a record high of $1.2 trillion, though credit card debt typically does go up at the end of the year because of holiday shopping. Delinquencies, which are missed payments on credit card bills, also ticked higher in the fourth quarter. U.S. futures contracts are trading flat at this hour. I'm Janene Hurst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.