NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-15-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: February 15, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is calling on the European Union to establish a united European army to defend the continent against Russia. NPR's Rob Schmitz reports from Munich. Speaking to European leaders at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky said he had met with Vice President JD Vant on the sidelines of the conference, but emphasized it was just the start of a dialogue about ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Zelensky said while Russia may be preparing for dialogue too,

he said Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want peace. Zelensky said the time has come for an armed forces of Europe to be created. He said Ukraine has intelligence that Putin wants to move Russian soldiers to Belarus this summer and warned it could be the start of an eventual attack on bordering EU member states.

Rob Schmitz and PR News, Munich. A union representing the U.S. Forest Service employees says the agency has fired about 3,400 workers just after the so-called fork in the road deadline for federal workers. Wyoming Public Radio's Caitlin Tan reports. Many U.S. Forest Service workers showed up to work only to be fired shortly thereafter, said Dennis Lapzowicz with the Forest Service Council, a national union. He says probationary employees were let go, including those in trail and road maintenance, logging, and even fire suppression.

We are losing wildland firefighters right and left, and they're not going to be here come this fire season. The Department of Agriculture, which runs the Forest Service, has not confirmed the number of job cuts or whether they include firefighters. A written response from the department says it supports President Trump's directive to quote, optimize government operations. For NPR News, I'm Caitlin Tan in Laramie, Wyoming. The National Transportation Safety Board is narrowing its focus in the investigation into what caused an Army helicopter to crash into an American Airlines regional jet in mid-air last month. The helicopter's pilots

may have had inaccurate altitude readings and may not have heard a critical air traffic control message. David Schaper reports. And TSP chair Jennifer Homendy says it appears the altimeters on the helicopter gave conflicting information about its altitude and the Blackhawk was flying higher than it should have been. Homendy says the helicopter's pilots may also not have fully heard an air traffic controller's instruction to pass behind the regional jet. CVR data from the Black Hawk indicated that the portion of the transmission that stated pass behind the may not have been received by the Black Hawk crew. Transmission was stepped on by a.8-second mic key

from the Black Hawk. The crash killed all 67 people onboard both aircraft. For NPR News, I'm David Schaper. This is NPR News in Washington. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, rebels backed by Rwanda have captured Bukau, the second largest city in eastern Congo. Thousands of residents are fleeing the city.

The rebels had seized the largest city, Goma, last month. The United Nations estimates that some 3,000 people died in the days before that city was taken. African leaders fear the conflict could escalate into a wider regional war. Today marks the 75th anniversary of a classic Disney film. As NPR's Neda Ulape reports, Cinderella opened in theaters on February 15, 1950. The original animated Cinderella was such a hit when it first came out, it turned around the fortunes of Walt Disney Productions.

Back then, the company was in a slump after a dispiriting string of flops. Fantasia and Bambi are beloved today, but neither was a hit in the 1940s. The massive success of Cinderella enabled Disney to start its own distribution and the theme parks, a marketing bonanza for the company. These days, Disney is in the headlines for changing its policies around diversity, equity, and inclusion, and for announcing it will put ads in the ad-free tiers of its streaming services, such as Disney Plus and Hulu. Neda Ulipi, NPR News. Neda Ulipi, NPR News.

It was six months ago that giant panda twins were born in Hong Kong, the first locally Ulupi, NPR News.