NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-17-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: February 17, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corva Coleman, powerful storms in the south have killed at least 10 people over the weekend. Nine people perished in Kentucky and another person died in Georgia. Thunderstorms, powerful winds and flash flooding overpowered some areas, leading to more than a thousand water rescues. From member station WUKY, Karen Zarr reports, President Trump has issued a federal disaster declaration for Kentucky. Governor Andy Beshear put in a request for an emergency disaster declaration and within

hours it was approved, which makes federal funding available to Kentuckians affected by this disaster. We've only seen a positive response from the federal administration, from the Trump administration during this disaster. I only have positive things to say how quickly the declaration came through. Bashir said all 120 counties in the state have been hit and FEMA officials were on the ground as of Sunday. He also announced the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund to raise money to help victims of this disaster. For NPR News, I'm Karen Zarr in Hazard, Kentucky.

Separately, dangerously cold weather is plunging south this morning, wind chill values are well below zero as far south as Kansas. The Justice Department is moving to dismiss federal corruption charges against New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams. At least seven federal prosecutors have resigned in protest, both in New York and Washington. They say the move appears to be a political trade. Trump administration officials reject that, as does Adams, who says he wants to stay in office. I am looking so forward to running for reelection and to do what I have been done moving the

city forward. But some Democrats in New York are outraged. Some protesters have been demonstrating in front of New York City Hall. Meanwhile, the request to dismiss the charges against the mayor are now before a federal judge who will make the decision. The family of an Israeli-American taken hostage by Hamas is thanking both the Trump administration and the Israeli government for securing his release this weekend. NPR's Sarah McCammon prepared this report.

Segey Dekelkhan, who has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Israel, was taken by Hamas from his kibbutz on October 7, 2023. He was among three hostages released this weekend as part of a fragile ceasefire deal, which included the release of 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. In a statement, his family said Dekel Ken was being reunited with his wife and three daughters, including one who was born while he was in captivity. They called for the release of the remaining hostages. Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement noting that Hamas is holding 73 hostages,

including one American, Edan Alexander, and warned Hamas that they are, quote, playing with fire by continuing to keep them captive. Sarah McKimmon reporting. This is NPR. Russia says top officials are going to Saudi Arabia today. The Kremlin says they will meet with U.S. counterparts and talk about the war in Ukraine, among other topics.

That includes restoring Russia-U.S. ties. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is supposed to travel to Saudi Arabia, but the State Department has not talked about any meeting he will have with Russian officials there. European leaders have been left out of the talks in Saudi Arabia. They're having their own meeting today in Paris. They fear the U.S. will try to push Ukraine into taking a bad peace deal with Russia. Yesterday, President Trump said that Ukraine's president would be involved in negotiations, but he did not elaborate.

South Korea suspended downloads of a Chinese artificial intelligence app. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports the app, known as DeepSeek, caused a global tech stock sell-off last month by offering AI functions at a fraction of its rivals costs. South Korea's privacy watchdog, the Personal Information Protection Commission, said that DeepSeek app downloads were suspended Saturday. They'll remain that way until DeepSeek brings its app into line with South Korea's data privacy laws. DeepSeek says it'll cooperate with the Commission. The watchdog told users who have already downloaded the app to use it with caution, due to concerns

about how users' data is managed. Australia and Taiwan have banned DeepSeek from government devices. The U.S. Congress is considering a similar bill. China's Foreign Ministry says it respects local privacy laws, but opposes politicizing tech issues. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul. I'm Korva Kuhlmann, NPR News from Washington.