NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-24-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. At the White House, President Trump and Emmanuel Macron of France have just emerged from their bilateral talks about ending Russia's war in Ukraine, the meeting coming on this third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump says both sides have lost dearly. Our focus is on achieving a ceasefire as soon as possible and ultimately a permanent peace. My meeting with President Macron today

was another important step forward in that sphere. Macron went to the White House to convince Trump to continue to hold Russia accountable for the invasion. Ahead of the talks, he described the Putin regime in Russia as an existential threat to Europe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 30 European allies planned to attend a summit in Kiev today, either in person or remotely. They were doing so as the Trump administration appears to be moving the U.S. away from commitments

made during the Biden administration when the U.S. vowed to keep military and other aid flowing to Ukraine and work to further isolate the Putin regime in Russia. The Trump administration is developing plans to build immigration detention facilities on U.S. military bases across the country. NPR's Joel Rose reports that would significantly expand the military's role in immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security is asking the Defense Department for help detaining immigrants without legal status. That request is laid out in a memo from DHS that was obtained by NPR. The plan would begin with a deportation hub at Fort Bliss near El Paso that could eventually hold as many as 10,000 immigrants and could serve as a model for as many as 10 other holding facilities on bases in New Jersey, Florida, Utah, Wyoming, and elsewhere.

The request is still in the planning stages, according to a DOD official who was not authorized to speak publicly. But if activated, it could dramatically expand detention capacity to support President Trump's push for mass deportations. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. Starbucks says it's laying off over a thousand corporate employees. It's one of the biggest job cuts at the company, which has brought on a new CEO to fix declining sales and Pia Zelina Seljuk has more. Starbucks says it's laying off 1,100 corporate staff and will not fill several hundred open positions. CEO Brian Nicol says the goal is to remove layers and duplication and simplify the corporate

structure. Nicholl was brought from Chipotle for his reputation fixing struggling food chains. Starbucks is in one of its longest sales slumps in years. Nicholl is now pushing to make the chain more like your local coffee shop and he's cutting the menu by 30% by the end of the year. First to go was the olive oil coffee. Now Starbucks says after March 4th, it will stop serving the white hot chocolate, the royal English breakfast latte, and several frappuccino options. Alina Seluk, NPR News. The Dow is

up nearly 150 points. This is NPR News. Well, finally some good news about this year's nasty flu season. It looks like this winter's flu surge may finally be waning, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And Piers Robstein has a story. According to the CDC data, the rate at which people are getting treated by a doctor for the flu or ending up in the hospital looks like it has finally started to decrease after rising sharply for weeks. But lots of people are still getting hit by the flu in the worst flu season in

seven years. In fact, doctors around the country are reporting that kids may be developing neurological complications from the flu more than usual this year. Experts say it's still not too late to get a flu shot. Rob Stein, NPR News. This Black History Month, some teachers are worried about incorporating black history lessons as the Department of Education directs public schools to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Nebraska Public Media's Cassidy Renner reports. Some school districts and teachers in Nebraska are hesitant to speak about Black History Month with the announcement that districts could lose federal funding if they don't eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Tim Royers is president of the Nebraska State Education Association. There's such a profound chilling effect that's happened right now because of the orders coming out of Washington. I don't think any school or district wants to talk about it for fear that that's gonna get weaponized and used against them to potentially take away federal funding. The Education Department says it'll start checking on school compliance at the end of the month. For NPR News, I'm Cassidy Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's NPR.