NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-17-2025 8AM EST

Episode Date: February 17, 2025

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Planet Money is there. From California's most expensive fires ever. That was my home home. Yeah. I grew up there. It's ashes. To the potentially largest deportation in U.S. history. They're going to come to the businesses. They're going to come to the restaurants. They're going to come here. Planet Money. We go to the places at the center of the story. The Planet Money podcast from NPR.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Russia says it sent top diplomats to Saudi Arabia to meet with U.S. counterparts and talk about establishing peace in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Saudi Arabia, but his meeting schedule has not been publicly disclosed. Ukraine's president is not there and nor are any European leaders. Terry Schultz reports the heads of eight European countries and NATO's chief are meeting today in Paris to discuss their next steps. French president Emmanuel Macron has invited leaders from Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the UK, NATO and European Union institutions to brainstorm about their approach to the U.S.-led

peace process for Ukraine. Christine Brezina with the German Marshall Fund says there's a lot to assess. What is a spending plan and a capability plan that they can do for themselves? What is their recommendation to Ukraine? The U.S. says European governments will be expected to monitor any potential ceasefire. So Brezina says they have reason to be displeased about being excluded. For Washington to sideline Europe in this process is a deep insult. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also wants Europe involved in negotiations.

For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. As of today, President Trump has been in office for about a month. During that time, there's been a lot of activity from the White House. NPR's Tamara Keith says Trump is taking a very expansive view of his executive authority. He is blowing past statutes, like the law requiring 30 days notice to Congress before firing inspectors general, and running straight into significant constitutional questions.

He's trying to redefine birthright citizenship, something enshrined in the Constitution. He's freezing federal funds and trying to erase agencies that were created by Congress without going back to Congress for the authority to do it. NPR's Tamara Keith reporting. New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams is resisting pressure to step down after the U.S. Justice Department moved last week to drop federal corruption charges against him. NPR's Brian Mann reports a growing number of Democrats say Adams should resign.

Those calling for Adams to leave office now include New York's Lieutenant Governor, top state senators, and Democratic members of Congress, who say Adams struck a deal with the DOJ, promising to help with immigration crackdowns if his criminal charges are dropped. A number of top DOJ lawyers resigned over the deal, but speaking at a Baptist church on Sunday, Adams said he's staying put. The most sanctified among us are calling for me to step down. Jesus, that's a head-tip. I'm not going to step down, I'm going to step up.

New York's Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul has the power to remove Adams from office. Hochul says she needs more time to review the situation. Meanwhile, Adams faces re-election in November. Brian Mann, NPR News, New York. On this President's Day, U.S. stock markets will be closed today. You're listening to NPR News. Deadly storms killed at least 10 people over the weekend in southern states. Most of the victims were killed in Kentucky following powerful winds, flash flooding, and thunderstorms.

Kentucky has gotten a federal disaster declaration. Much of the state is under a winter storm watch this morning. The National Weather Service has issued extreme cold warnings for the Central Plains. Temperatures feel well below zero from the Canadian border to parts of Oklahoma this morning. There are winter storm warnings from Nebraska to eastern Tennessee. A runner from Uganda has broken the world record in the half marathon. NPR's Juliana Kim reports 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. NASCAR racer William Byron has won his second straight Daytona 500. President Trump was in attendance at the race. Byron avoided a wreck on his final lap to take the Daytona 500 checkered flag. I'm Korva Kuhlman, NPR News.