NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-15-2025 8AM EST

Episode Date: February 15, 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 Plus 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 Giles Snyder. Ukrainian President Volodymyr 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 Vance 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 Per News, Munich. In Tel Aviv's hostage square today, applause broke out when video screens showed the release of three more hostages. In another public display, Hamas released the three, handing them over to the Red Cross and the Gaza City of Can Yunis as part of the ceasefire deal that nearly collapsed earlier this week. In return, Israel began releasing more than 350 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

A first bus was greeted by a cheering crowd of relatives and supporters in the West Bank. National Transportation Safety Board 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. Investigators say the helicopter's pilots may have had inaccurate altitude readings and may not have heard a critical air traffic control message. A federal judge has extended a block on Elon Musk, a government cost-cutting team, from accessing the Treasury Department's payment systems. The extension came in a case filed by 19 Democratic state attorneys general.

It's one of multiple cases pushing back against the Trump administration's efforts to slash the size of the government. Separately, the Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General says it's launching an audit of the team's access to Treasury systems. Stocks gained ground this week despite stubborn inflation in a lackluster report on retail spending. Here's NPR's Scott Horsley. Stocks aren't the only things getting more expensive.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that consumer prices were up 3 percent in January, a bigger annual increase than the month before. With sticky inflation and a solid job market, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers this week the central bank does not have to be in a hurry to cut interest rates. Shoppers dialed back their spending last month. Retail sales fell by nine-tenths of a percent. While the Trump administration threatened higher tariffs in the not too distant future, investors seemed relieved that most of the import taxes have not kicked in yet.

For the week that Dow gained more than half a percent, the S&P 500 index rose one and a half percent, and the Nasdaq jumped more than two and a half percent. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington. And from Washington, you're listening to NPR News. National Weather Service is warning of the potential for life-threatening flash flooding this weekend, extending from the south to the central Appalachians, with the greatest risk in parts of northwestern Tennessee and western Kentucky, where Governor Andy Beshear has issued a state of emergency.

Men's hockey, the U.S. and Canada play tonight in Montreal in the Foreign Nations Face-Off Tournament and once friendly rapport has turned icy. MPR's Amy Held reports that Canadian fans have been using the US national anthem as a platform to protest President Trump's rhetoric. It started a couple of weeks ago, Canadian crowds booing the Star-Spangled Banner at basketball games and hockey too. Thursday night in Montreal, as the U.S. faced Finland, some fans jeered, even though the announcer

had asked for respect. On the other hand, O'Canada got an unusually enthusiastic sing-along. Many Canadians feel betrayed by President Trump's trade war and annexation threats. Pausing for patriotism in sports has been a tradition for more than a century. So too has the national anthem provided a platform for dissent. U.S. center J.T. Miller says the booing is not all bad and that it fires the team up.

Tournament play shifts to Boston next week. Amy Held and PR News. Top-ranked men's tennis player Yannick Sinner has accepted a three-month doping ban. Sinner accepted the immediate ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, allowing him to return before the French Open in May. The agreement ends the case after Sinner had two positive doping tests nearly a year ago. I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News from Washington. 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 Throughline from NPR, wherever you get your podcasts.