NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-18-2025 7AM 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 Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting his Russian counterparts today in Saudi Arabia. They're talking about improving US-Russian ties. NPR's Charles Main says they're also talking about

establishing peace in Ukraine. The US team comes in with President Trump on record agreeing that Ukraine must give up its NATO ambitions and territory to Moscow. Those are two key Russian demands. The U.S. is already seated. Now there are all sorts of questions about where borders are drawn and whether there could be a peacekeeping contingent and who that might involve. But fundamentally the concern in Europe and certainly in Kiev is that while they want

what they call a just peace, Trump just wants peace. NPR's Charles Means reporting. This month marks the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the coming days, Israel is preparing to receive the bodies of at least four Israeli hostages who were held in Gaza. This is part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that lasts through next week. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv. An Israeli official tells NPR that on Thursday Israel expects Hamas to hand over four or

five bodies of hostages. On Saturday, three living hostages are expected to be freed. At the same time, there are negotiations to increase the number of hostages to be freed. For its part, Israel is to release Palestinian detainees and prisoners, including those convicted for deadly attacks on Israelis. Next week, there will be a final round, exchanging Palestinian prisoners for three living Israeli hostages and around four dead hostages. In total, 73 hostages remain in Gaza, 36 of them confirmed dead. Hamas and Israel are meant to negotiate the next phase of a ceasefire deal, but the future

of the deal is unclear. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she will meet today with key leaders in New York City. They will weigh the possible ouster of Democratic Mayor Eric Adams. Four top aides to Adams resigned yesterday. NPR's Brian Mann reports there is a growing scandal involving corruption charges against the Democratic mayor. In a statement Hockel said she spoke with Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, one of Adams' four top aides leaving office. According to Hockel, that conversation

left her with quote, serious questions about the long-term future of this mayoral administration. Mayor Adams was charged by the Justice Department in September with bribery and corruption. Critics say the Trump administration shelved those charges only after Adams agreed to help a national crackdown on migrants. No governor in the last 235 years has used their authority to oust an elected mayor of New York City, but Hockel said the crisis in City Hall is troubling and cannot be ignored. Adams has denied any wrongdoing and says he won't resign. Brian Mann, NPR News, New York. On Wall Street in pre-market trading, Dow futures are higher. You're listening to NPR. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is laying off 15 percent

of its corporate employees. From member station KERA, Caroline Love reports. The layoffs affect more than 1,700 employees. CEO Robert Jordan said in a statement it was a difficult and monumental decision. The airline has faced challenges in recent months, including declining profit margins and a civil lawsuit over alleged mismanagement of an employee retirement plan. Southwest also restructured its board in October as part of a settlement with an investment firm that tried to oust Jordan but he refused to resign. The airline announced several changes last fall to boost revenue including the end of its open seating policy next year.

Eligible employees impacted by the layoffs will receive salary and benefits through late April. For NPR News, I'm Caroline Love in Dallas. A winter storm warning blankets much of Kentucky today, a few days after powerful thunderstorms raked the South. At least a dozen people died in Kentucky. One person was killed in West Virginia. Another person perished in Georgia. Flash flooding in Kentucky triggered more than a thousand water rescues. In summery Brazil, temperatures

are reaching record highs. Officials in Rio de Janeiro say it got to 107 degrees yesterday. Schools closed and cooling centers opened. Officials at the Mystic Aquarium in New Haven, Connecticut are caring for a baby gray seal. It was discovered twice over the weekend wandering the streets in the city. Aquarium officials say the baby seals only a few weeks old and likely got lost. They plan to eventually release him back into the ocean. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News. Planet money is there. From California's most

expensive fires ever. That was my home. I grew up there. It's ashes. To the potentially largest deportation in US 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