NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-18-2025 5AM EST

Episode Date: February 18, 2025

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Bella DiPaolo is glad if you're happily married, but she is perfectly happy being single. I would love to have someone who took care of my car or someone who cleaned up the dishes after dinner. But then I'd want them to leave. From yourself to your dog to your spouse are significant others. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Matiglay. At this hour, a delegation from Moscow, led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, is meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia. They're said to be discussing negotiations to end Russia's

war in Ukraine. Moscow's full-scale invasion began three years ago this month. Alongside Rubio are President Trump's National Security Adviser Mike Walz and the president's envoy Steve Witkoff. The talks follow Trump's 90-minute phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week. Trump has since said he believes Putin wants to end the fighting in Ukraine. Officials from Kiev are not part of the talks in Riyadh. Thousands of people across the US marked President's Day by protesting President Trump and his Doge team led by billionaire Elon Musk. As NPR's Shondalise Duster reports, one of the demonstrations against Trump's

government downsizing efforts took place in the nation's Capitol. Amid frigid temperatures and 20 mile per hour wind gusts, large crowds gathered at the Capitol reflecting pool. Chanting, do your job, protesters demanded lawmakers take action against mass firings at governmental agencies. Suzanne, a resident of Maryland who requested that her last name be withheld because she fears retaliation against her family, says she and her husband,

who is a federal employee with a financial regulatory agency, are worried he will be laid off. Currently his paychecks are going through, but we're looking to plan B as an alternatives on how to support our family, our children. The protests were organized by the 50-51 movement, which means 50 protests, 50 states, one movement.

Chandelis Duster, NPR News. Delta Airlines says 18 people were injured in yesterday's plane crash at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. The plane flipped over as the commuter flight was arriving from Minneapolis in windy weather. NPR's Jackie Northam says there were 80 people aboard. Videos on social media show the Delta Airlines commuter plane upside down on a snowy tarmac shortly after landing in Toronto. Emergency crews worked to put out a fire while passengers and crew got off, according to Toronto Police. Since the flight took off from Minneapolis, National Transportation Safety Boards in the US and Canada will work together to determine the cause of the crash. Winds

were gusting about 40 miles an hour. There's been heavy snowfall in the area for the past three weeks and a winter travel advisory was in effect. Jackie Northam, NPR News. Flights have since resumed at Pearson International. The death toll from flooding in Kentucky has risen to at least 12 as search and rescue efforts continue in areas of the state. This is NPR News from Washington. Cold air continues to expand over more states in the central U.S. The National Weather Service has extended extreme cold warnings into much of Oklahoma and Texas. They stretch northward into Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Forecasters are warning of life-threatening Arctic cold in northern areas.

It's currently 33 degrees below zero in Bismarck, North Dakota. It's minus 11 in Minneapolis. The Vatican says Pope Francis remains hospitalized in Rome with what's described as a complex infection in his respiratory system. He was admitted last week. The pope is 88 years old. Mexican singer Paquita La del Barrio has died at the age of 77. As NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento reports, the singer was known as a voice of heartbreak and rage.

Paquita La del Barrio, which informally translates to Paquita from the Block, became a star in Mexico in the 1980s. She was beloved for the disdain with which she sang about the men who broke her heart. Rata de dos patas Paquita said her music was inspired by her real relationships. For decades, her lyrics channeled her pain into feminist rage. In the hit Una Rata de Dos Patas, she famously compared an ex-lover to a cursed leech and

a poisonous snake. Paquita La del Barrio's team announced her passing, no cause of death was given. Mexico City's Department of Culture issued a statement celebrating her quote, unmistakable voice and unique style. Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento, NPR News. I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington. Listen to this podcast, sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast This is the Balagoma Sarmiento, NPR News. I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington.