NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-20-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: February 21, 2025

NPR News: 02-20-2025 9PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This message comes from Wondery. At 24 years old, Monika Lewinsky was in a scandal that defined who she was for the entire world. And now, she's ready to draw from her own experience on what it means to redefine yourself on her new podcast, Reclaiming with Monika Lewinsky. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The annual CPAC conservative conference kicked off today just outside Washington, D.C. As NPR's Stephen Fowler reports, an unannounced appearance from Elon Musk drew the most excitement. After Musk took the CPAC stage, Argentina's President Javier Malé brought him a golden chainsaw to symbolize his work to slash the size, scope and spending of the U.S. government.

Musk hyped the idea of taking some of that savings identified by Doge and giving it back to taxpayers. It's money that's taken away from things that are destructive to the country and from organizations that hate you. But that idea is a long way from coming to fruition. An NPR review finds the Doge effort has overstated its savings claims So far by billions of dollars Stephen Fowler NPR News Washington The Trump administration has cut protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians putting them on track to be deported this summer

NPR's Jasmine Garst reports temporary protected status or T, allows people from certain designated countries where there is armed conflict, environmental disaster, or political turmoil to live in the US. Among those nations is Haiti. Haitians have been designated as eligible to receive TPS since 2010. Around half a million Haitians living in the US are eligible for TPS status. Before he left office, President Joe Biden granted them an extra 18 months of protection from getting deported. But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has now signed an order revoking that extension. That means the temporary protected status will now expire in August of this year, putting hundreds of thousands on track for deportation back to Haiti.

Jasmine Garz, NPR News, New York. A series of explosions are being reported on buses tonight in central Israel. That's according to Israeli police. NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi reports it comes at a very critical moment in a ceasefire between the Palestinian military group Hamas in Israel. Israeli police said that there were no reported injuries after multiple explosions went off on buses in the southern Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam. Officials said the buses had finished their routes and were in a parking lot.

Israeli police said they were investigating the incident and that explosives were found on two other buses. This comes hours after the Palestinian militant group Hamas returned the bodies of four Israeli hostages Hadil al-shalchi NPR news while the world's largest retailer delivered another year of strong sales and profits the outlook for the year ahead is a Bit less Rosie that contributed to a major down day on Wall Street retailer Walmart Projecting its forecast for this year could be below analysts expectations

Walmart projecting its forecast for this year could be below analysts' expectations. Company officials citing a possible pullback in consumer spending and higher prices due to proposed tariffs by the Trump administration on China. The Dow fell 450 points today. The Nasdaq was down 93 points. You're listening to NPR. Looking to avert a possible confrontation, top EU trade officials have been stressing the importance of active engagement and fairness between the bloc and the US, though how things will shake out remains to be seen. President Trump continues to throw decades-long partnerships between the US and Europe into turmoil as he talks about ramping up tariffs, something that would make the price of imported

goods higher for US consumers. It's not clear whether the EU would impose retaliatory measures of its own. as he talks about ramping up tariffs, something that would make the price of imported goods higher for US consumers. It's not clear whether the EU would impose retaliatory measures of its own. A new study finds lab mice may try to revive unconscious mice when they see them. As Imperial Astronauts and Lambert explained, some researchers suspect it may be a form of empathy.

Researchers who anesthetize mice have noticed that other mice sometimes behave strangely towards unconscious individuals. New research published in the journal Science describes this behavior in detail. When presented with an unconscious cage mate, mice exhibit behaviors that start with sniffing and grooming and progress to biting and even tongue pulling. Mice are especially attentive when they know the unconscious mouse. The poking and prodding actually seems to help the knocked-out mice regain consciousness

faster, the study found. These behaviors were activated by oxytocin circuits in the brain, which have been shown to underlie helping behaviors in other species. The researchers say it could be an instinctual behavior that might have evolved because of its beneficial effects to social groups. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. Crude oil futures prices closed higher today, adding to recent gains. Oil up 32 cents a barrel to end the session at $72.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from NYU Langone. The NYU Langone Health app gives you access to your electronic health record. in Washington.