NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-22-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: February 23, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. President Trump delivered the keynote address today at the Conservative Political Action Conference, also known as CPAC. NPR's Stephen Fowler reports Trump gave a wide-ranging address touting his first month back in the White House. During a lengthy keynote that resembled his campaign rally speeches, Trump said in one month he's already delivered on his campaign promises, including deportations. The illegal alien criminals are being sent home. We're draining the swamp and we're restoring government by the people, for the people.

Trump also spoke extensively and supportably about the Doge efforts to cut government spending and shrink the size of the federal government. The theme of this week's CPAC highlighted Trump's influence over the conservative movement at home and abroad with speeches from cabinet secretaries, advisors, and global leaders hyping his achievements. Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Washington. A federal judge in Providence heard arguments this week on how much latitude the Trump administration has to unilaterally freeze federal funding allocated to states. David Wright reports from Rhode Island. Attorneys General for 22 states filed suit after the White House temporarily froze trillions

of dollars in grants and loans states were expecting to pay for everything from infrastructure repairs to disaster relief. The White House initially told federal agencies to root out things like DEI, woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal before releasing any funds. The states say the Trump administration lacks the authority to do that. Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Nirono. So what we're seeking is a freeze, if you will, on their freeze, meaning you cannot take any additional action to pause these funds.

Judge John McConnell said he'll rule on the issue next week. Meanwhile, his temporary restraining order blocking the freeze remains in effect. For NPR News, I'm David Wright in Providence. Authorities in Pennsylvania say a police officer was killed and five people were wounded when a man took medical staff hostage at a hospital in York. York County District Attorney Tim Barker says the suspect was fatally shot by law enforcement after opening fire inside an intensive care unit. Officer Andrew Duarte from the West York Borough Police Department was fatally struck and killed. The Fraternal Order of Police released a statement calling the officer who was killed in the shooting a hero.

Two other law enforcement officers were shot by the gunmen and are reported to be in stable condition. Pope Francis remains hospitalized in critical condition, the Vatican says. The 88-year-old pontiff experienced a respiratory crisis today. Francis was admitted to a hospital in Rome last week. This is NPR News in Washington. Apple says it's withdrawing its most secure cloud storage service from the United Kingdom after the British government allegedly demanded access to customer data. NPR's Lauren Frere reports from London.

In a statement emailed to NPR, Apple says it can no longer offer advanced data protection, or ADP, for iCloud in the UK. That's the system that ensures end-to-end encryption of users' data. Earlier this month, the UK government asked Apple for the right to see that data, which Apple says it can't even access. It argues that giving governments backdoor access would eventually lead to hackers and others getting in. So it's decided to pull this security feature from the UK market altogether. Users will eventually have to disable it from their iPhones. Apple says it's quote, gravely

disappointed given the rise of threats to customer privacy. The UK government did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, London. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have 48 hours to explain what they accomplished in their jobs over the last week or risk being fired. President Trump's cost-cutting chief, Elon Musk, posted on social media today that failure to respond will be taken as a resignation. Musk has been leading a massive effort to slash the federal workforce and cut back on what the Trump administration calls wasteful spending. I'm Windsor Johnston and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.