NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-24-2025 1AM EST

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. The Trump Administration is putting almost all employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development on paid administrative leave. And the agency says hundreds of layoffs will follow. NPR's Fatma Tanis reports. America's aid agency has around 4,700 full-time employees. In a memo distributed to agency staff on Sunday afternoon, the administration also announced that a reduction in force would

follow with a termination of 1,600 positions. Some exceptions would be made for, quote, mission-critical functions, core leadership, or special designated programs. This is the latest development in the administration's effort to significantly downsize USAID. Before President Trump's inauguration, more than 10,000 people worked there, most of them contractors who've already lost their jobs. On Friday, a federal judge allowed the Trump administration to proceed with its plan to dismantle the agency and put the bulk of USAID staff on leave. Fatma Tanis, NPR News. Top military leaders including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown Jr., and Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, were fired late Friday.

President Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth is now defending the move while the top Democrat calls foul. NPR's Luke Garrett reports on the latest. Defense Secretary Hagseth told Fox News Sunday that the military firings were not personal or political. I have a lot of respect for C.Q. Brown. I got to know him over the course of a month.

He's an honorable man, not the right man for the moment. Hegseth says President Trump deserves to nominate his own defense team, including his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Air Force Lieutenant General John Dan Raisen Kane. The president respects leaders who untie the hands of warfighters in a very dangerous world. I think Dan Kane's the man to meet the moment. Rhode Island Senator Jack Reid, who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a veteran, criticized the firings on ABC's This Week. Apparently what Trump and Hec says they're trying to do is to politicize the Department

of Defense. Cain will need to earn Senate approval. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. President Trump has issued a memorandum to limit Chinese investment in strategic sectors in the US. Those include technology, critical infrastructure, as well as energy. China says the move is discriminatory. NPR's John Ruich has more on that story. Trump signed the America First investment policy on Friday following a tense call between Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Vice Premier He Li-feng, who is point man for China-U.S. economic ties.

While the memo aims to promote investment in the U.S., it also accuses China of exploiting opportunities in U.S. capital to enhance its military and security agencies. China's Ministry of Commerce says the memo will seriously affect normal economic and trade cooperation and undermine the confidence of Chinese companies investing in the U.S. It calls instead for a fair, transparent and predictable business environment for investors, and says China will take necessary means to defend its rights and interests. John Ruch, NPR News. And you're listening to NPR News.

In Lebanon, the former leader of Hezbollah, the militant Iran-backed group, has been laid to rest five months after being killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. Tens of thousands of people turned out for his funeral, NPR's Jane Arraff reports from Beirut. The funeral was held at Beirut's biggest sports stadium, the only venue large enough to accommodate mourners. Nasrallah is one of the founders of Hezbollah, created to counter the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. His killing last September

deeply shocked his followers and severely weakened the organization. But at the funeral, mourners and officials said he was more influential as what they consider a mortar than he was alive. They vowed to continue his path of resistance against Israel and the United States. Senior Iranian and Iraqi officials attended the funeral, along with what Hezbollah said were mortars from dozens of countries. Jane Araf, NPR News, Beirut. An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi landed safely in Rome this afternoon after it was diverted because of a security concern. Airline officials

say the plane was inspected by law enforcement after landing and was then cleared to leave. That flight will continue its journey tomorrow. Michaela Schifrin won her 100th World Cup race on Sunday. She was the first-run leader at the World Cup slalom in Italy and finished the day 6 tenths of a second ahead of Žrinka Ljudic of Croatia. American Paula Moulson finished in third in that event. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.