NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-17-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: February 17, 2025

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Live from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Matiglay. President Trump says his administration is working very hard to try to reach an agreement to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to hold talks this week in Saudi Arabia with officials from Moscow. Asked by reporters yesterday if Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky will be involved in the negotiations, Trump told reporters in Florida, yes. The president did not elaborate. In France, European leaders are holding their own talks about ending the war in Ukraine, as NPR's

Eleanor Beardsley reports from Paris. The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Poland, the Netherlands, and Denmark will come together to reassess the rapidly changing situation. Europeans thought they could work with the new Trump administration on negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. But comments by Trump officials in Europe confirmed their worst fears, says security expert Ellie Tenenbaum with the French Institute for International Relations. That they were going to be bypassed by the United States to negotiate a peace deal over the head and strong-arming Ukraine into a bad deal.

Europeans and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky say Europe must have a seat at the table when decisions about Europe are being made. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris. The latest round of layoffs of federal workers includes about a thousand employees at the National Park Service. It's part of the Trump administration's ongoing effort to shrink the size of government. NPR's Emma Bowman spoke to one park ranger who says he lost his dream job. Brian Gibbs got the news on Valentine's Day.

He was an environmental educator at the Effigy Mounds National Monument in Northeast Iowa, an ancient Native American burial site. The park holds a lot of meaning for him. This is home. It's the first place I told my spouse that I loved her. It's the first park that I took my son to. But he says the public stands to lose a lot more. You're losing people who are teaching youth such as myself, you know, the value of protecting and preserving these places for current and future generations. I mean, that's what the Park Service is founded on. That's their mission.

Gibbs says he has other skill sets, but that this job was his passion. Emma Bowman, NPR News. Flooding in parts of the Southern US has left at least 10 people dead. Authorities in Kentucky report at least nine fatalities. One person was killed in Georgia when a tree fell on a house in Atlanta. In Tennessee, dozens of people had to be rescued from

high water in Tipton County, northeast of Memphis. About 4,300 workers at an Amazon warehouse in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina have voted against unionizing. This is NPR News. William Byron is celebrating his second consecutive win at the Daytona 500. After a lengthy rain delay in Florida, Byron captured the checkered flag when a final lap crash knocked out race leader Denny Hamlin on the back stretch. A runner from Uganda has broken the world record in the half marathon. NPR's Juliana Kim says he did so in Spain.

This isn't the first time Jacob Kiplamo claimed the world record for a half marathon. He earned the title back in 2021, but it was taken from him last year by a runner from Kenya who beat his record by just one second. On Sunday, Kiplamo ran with a vengeance and finished under 57 minutes. He beat the previous record by 48 seconds. World Athletics called it the greatest single improvement on the men's World Half Marathon record. To achieve such a feat, Kiblamo averaged about 4 minutes and 20 seconds per mile.

On Instagram, he said the day was perfect. Now he'll be training for his full marathon debut, which will be in London this April. Juliana Kim, NPR News. The Walt Disney Company says it expects Captain America Brave New World to have brought in at least 100 million dollars at the North American box office by the end of the President's Day holiday. The movie generated nearly 89 million dollars in ticket sales over the weekend at the North American box office by the end of the President's Day holiday. The movie generated nearly $89 million in ticket sales over the weekend as the most popular film for moviegoers. Worldwide, the film brought in $192 million. Wall Street futures are higher. This morning Dow futures are up 38 points. I'm Dave Mattingly, NPR News in Washington.