NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-14-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

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Hey, it's Rachel Martin from Wildcard. This Valentine's Day, NPR wants to show our love for listeners like you by giving away a free year of NPR+, and $100 worth of NPR merch to one lucky winner. Enter for a chance to win at npr.org slash valentine. No purchase necessary. Entry page and a link to the official rules can be found at npr.org slash valentine. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to lift its freeze on funding the federal

agency USAID. That funds development work around the world. NPR's Rylan Barton reports the temporary court order is the second setback for Trump's effort to dismantle U.S. foreign aid. The ruling comes after a lawsuit brought by two health care organizations that get funding from USAID. The Trump administration shut down funding for aid, saying it was conducting a review of programs while deciding whether they should be eliminated.

Judge Amir Ali wrote in his order that the Trump administration had not offered any explanation for why the blanket suspension was a quote quote rational precursor to reviewing the programs. Earlier Thursday a judge in a separate case said Trump's order recalling the vast majority of USAID staffers around the world will continue to be blocked for at least another week. Ryland Barton, NPR News. Meanwhile NPR has learned a wide swath of other federal workers are getting layoff notices. These appear to target workers recently hired who are still on probation. Some of the layoffs even target people at the agency that keeps U.S. nuclear weapons

safe. The Trump administration is moving to impose reciprocal tariffs on other countries. These would start April 2nd. Trump wants the U.S. to match what other countries charge when they import American goods. But NPR's Scott Horsley says that here, the White House is sending mixed signals. One argument that the administration is making is that these tariffs are a short-term tactic to get other companies to open their markets up to U.S. exports. Trump has also talked about using tariffs as a way to raise money for the government

and possibly offset some of the cost of the tax cuts he also hopes to pass. The thing is, tariffs can't really do both those things. Either they're a bargaining chip that we hope to remove pretty quickly, or they're a revenue raiser that you plan on keeping around for a while. NPR's Scott Horsley reporting. The National Transportation Safety Board is set to offer an update today on last month's deadly aircraft crash in Washington, D.C. Sixty-seven people died when a military helicopter and a passenger jet collided. David Schaper reports. The Army Blackhawk helicopter slammed into an American Airlines regional jet as the regional

plane was coming in for a landing at Reagan National Airport. Both aircraft plunged into the frigid Potomac River. There were no survivors. Investigators have already determined that the helicopter was flying higher than it should have been and was at about 300 feet when it collided with the plane, but it's not yet known if the pilots of the plane knew that the helicopter was close by. New information could come from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders and investigators' interviews with air traffic controllers, but it will likely take a year or longer

before the NTSB determines a probable cause. For NPR News, I'm David Schaper. Weather forecasters say a storm system plowing across California today will move east across the country. They say it will create eventful weather in the next few days. You're listening to NPR. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been sworn in as the newest secretary for health and human services. The vaccine skeptic

says he won't stop people from getting vaccines, but he denies scientific studies that have long debunked vaccines link to autism. As Kennedy takes office, an outbreak of measles is growing in a rural border county in West Texas. From member station KTTZ, Samantha Larned reports officials have identified at least 24 cases.

Most confirmed cases have been among school aged children and all of the patients were unvaccinated. The executive director of South Plains Public Health District, Zach Holbrooks, says the MMR vaccine is a quote strong tool in preventing outbreaks.

Everybody has that choice in Texas. There's no mandate that says you have to have it. That's the risk. You get exposure in an unvaccinated population. You could have what you have now. The World Health Organization declared measles eliminated in the U.S. in the year 2000 due to a high percentage of people receiving the MMR vaccine. Since then there has been an increase in measles cases both in Texas and elsewhere in the U.S. Since then, there has been an increase in measles cases, both in Texas and elsewhere in the U.S., where vaccination rates are lower. For NPR News, I'm Samantha Larned in Lubbock.

The video-sharing app TikTok is back. Apple and Google restored it to their app stores. That's despite a new federal law banning it, unless TikTok splits from its Chinese parent company. But new U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi says she won't enforce the federal law. Experts warn that could still change. A Norwegian runner has broken the men's record for the fastest indoor mile. Jakob Ingebrigtsen dashed across the line in a French race in three minutes, 45 seconds.

This is NPR. Valentine's Day is on the horizon and NPR's All Songs Considered has you covered with a mix of lesser known love songs for that special someone in your life. You don't make your wife playlists? Well, not anymore. I sealed the deal. Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, Robin, Mr. Robin. She is not. We're going to discuss this later. Hear new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday, wherever you get podcasts.