NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-18-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: February 18, 2025

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Whatever your job is, wherever you're from, NPR is a resource for all Americans. Our mission is to create a more informed public. We do that by providing free access to independent, rigorous journalism that's accountable to the public. You. Federal funding for public media provides critical support of this work. Learn more about how to safeguard it at ProtectMyPublicMedia.org. Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Former US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, says the Trump administration is making a mistake by meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia without Ukraine and Europe on board. It's a mistake. It's symbolically a mistake.

There should be talks with our colleagues in Ukraine first, substantial talks, not just the kind of episodic conversations they've had, including in Munich. Second, we should talk to our European allies first, and then we should go to a meeting with the Russians with a consolidated agreed position. Top US and Russian officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are meeting at the Sauer in Riyadh. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will not recognize any agreements without Ukraine at the table and European leaders held emergency talks in Paris on Monday of a concern that they could be sidelined. The National

Transportation Safety Board sending investigators to Toronto to assist their Canadian counterparts in the investigation into Monday's crash at Toronto Pearson International Airport. A Delta flight out of Minneapolis crashed while landing and flipped upside down. Officials say 18 people were injured but no one was killed. The Department of Energy has rescinded the firings of many workers responsible for overseeing the nation's nuclear weapons. NPR's Jeff Bromfield reports a reversal came within hours of mass terminations. Over the weekend several employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration told NPR they've been hastily rehired after being fired last Thursday. Sources inside the

agency said hundreds were fired at first, but in a statement sent late Sunday night a Department of Energy spokesperson said that fewer than 50 employees ultimately lost their jobs. Those jobs were in quote, primarily administrative and clerical roles. Members of Congress were alarmed after learning of the mass layoffs at the agency, which oversees America's nuclear warheads and combats nuclear terrorism. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News, Washington. The Vatican says Pope Francis will remain in the hospital to treat what it calls a complex clinical situation.

Francis submitted late last week for a respiratory infection, as NPR's Jackie Northam reports. Before his hospital admission Friday, Pope Francis had shown signs of bronchitis for several days. But the Vatican says recent tests indicate the pontiff has polymicrobial respiratory tract infection, which can be caused by a combination of viruses, bacteria and fungi, according to the National Institutes of Health. The diagnosis prompted a change in the Pope's drug treatment, and the Vatican says he will stay in the hospital for as long as necessary. The Pope has had challenging health conditions in the past, including the removal of part

of a lung after a pulmonary infection when he was a young man. He was hospitalized for several days in 2023 with a bout of pneumonia. Jackie Northam, NPR News. This is NPR News. This is NPR News. A death toll from widespread flooding in Kentucky is rising. Governor Andy Beshear says at least 12 people were killed in his state. Following heavy rain over the weekend, one fatality has been confirmed in West Virginia, where the governor is asking president Trump to declare a federal disaster. It's icy, snowy and cold across much of the U.S.

But Brazil is getting record heat. Rio de Janeiro hit 107 on Monday, prompting city officials to issue health warnings and open cooling centers, as MPR's Carrie Khan reports. Even at famous Copacabana beach, it was hot. Corona, brama, rain, water, agua. Beers are selling fast, but water, as tops today say vendors, three more extremely hot days are expected. This is high summer carnival season that prompted Rio's mayor to raise the new heat warning to level 4 out of 5.

Some schools closed and city workers are getting hydration breaks. More than 50 cooling centers have opened. A high pressure system over the ocean is blocking any cold weather from coming onshore. There's no rain in the upcoming forecast. Southern Brazil, part of the country's vast farm belt, is experiencing record drought. Kari Kahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro. International hockey, Sweden, top team USA and last night's four nations faceoff game in Boston But the victory has no bearing on Thursday night's final the US already assured of playing and the game will be a rematch against Canada which advanced with a victory over Finland Canada lost to the US and Montreal over the weekend a game marked by three fights

In the first seconds of action. This is MPR news lights in the first seconds of action. This is NPR News.