NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-18-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: February 18, 2025

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Hey, it's Amartines. I work on a news show. And yeah, the news can feel like a lot on any given day. But you just can't ignore las noticias when important world-changing events are happening. So that is where the Up First podcast comes in. Every single morning in under 15 minutes, we take the news and boil it down to three essential stories so you can keep up without feeling stressed out. Listen to the Upfirst podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kourva Coleman. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Saudi Arabia today meeting his Russian counterparts. They're talking about restoring relations between Moscow and Washington and about Russia's war in

Ukraine. But neither Ukrainian nor European diplomats are there. NPR's Joanna Kikissus reports from Kyiv, Ukraine's president, won't be attending the talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, but, he said, only for an official visit with Saudi officials. Zelensky said there cannot be negotiations without Ukraine. Oleksandr Kraev, a political scientist in Kyiv, says Zelensky expects President Trump to make Ukraine an equal partner in talks to end the war. In any other case, the negotiation will be a futile effort and Trump will be presented

as a bad negotiator, weak politician and a bad diplomat basically. Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia is expected to visit Ukraine later this week. Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Cave. A federal judge appears unlikely to grant a request to immediately halt efforts by Elon Musk's Doge entity to access federal data and fire government employees. NPR's Stephen Fowler reports on a hearing over a lawsuit filed by several Democratic state attorneys general. This lawsuit argues Elon Musk's influential role in the government is illegal and should be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The best word to describe Judge Tanya Chutkin in this hour-long hearing? Skeptical. Skeptical of

the government's claims that Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency don't have that much power, and skeptical that the state's suing have showed enough evidence to halt, for now, actions in seven federal agencies. Chutkin said she'll issue a ruling in the next 24 hours. Stephen Fowler, NPR News. The Energy Department has reversed the firings of many workers, whom it just sacked. The workers are responsible for overseeing the nation's nuclear weapons. The reversal was hasty.

Some employees said they were rehired within hours of being let go. Some members of Congress expressed alarm over mass layoffs at an agency that guards U.S. nuclear warhead and fights nuclear terrorism. Investigators are trying to find why a Delta commuter plane overturned when it landed yesterday at the main airport for Toronto.

Deborah Flint is the president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. She says 18 people were hurt. We are very grateful that there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries. Firefighters put out a fire as passengers fled the plane. 80 people were aboard. The National Weather Service has issued extreme cold warnings for almost all of the central US. Wind chill readings could fall below zero as far south as central Texas. Norther than that it's a lot colder. It feels like 40 below in North Dakota. This is NPR. Indigenous activist and convicted murderer Leonard Peltier

is due to be released from a federal prison today in Florida. He was serving a life sentence for the killings of two FBI agents in 1975. Native American activists insist he is innocent. Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden commuted his sentence to home confinement. New York Governor Kathy Hochul plans to meet with New York City officials today. They'll discuss next steps for the city as Mayor Eric Adams remains tangled in an alleged corruption scandal. Bruce Convisa reports the governor may consider taking drastic action. Bruce Convisa, New York City Governor, News. In making her announcement late Monday, Governor Hockel indicated that she's considering

removing Mayor Eric Adams from office. Earlier in the day, four of the city's eight deputy mayors announced their resigning from the mayor's administration. It was the latest blow for the embattled mayor who has vowed to fight on. Last week, at least seven federal prosecutors in New York and Washington resigned, rather than ask a judge to dismiss the five count indictment against Mayor Adams.

The New York State Constitution gives the governor the power to remove the mayor from office, but in announcing the meeting, Governor Hockel noted that in the state's 235-year history, no governor had ever taken such action. For NPR News, I'm Bruce Convyser in New York. The Vatican says Pope Francis remains hospitalized in Rome. He's being treated for a polymicrobial respiratory infection. Doctors say he needs to remain on absolute rest. Vatican officials say the pontiff is in stable condition,

but that his medical case is complex. This is NPR.