NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-24-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. On the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, President Trump thinks the war could end within weeks, as NPR's Franco Ordonjes reports. Trump added that Ukraine's President, Vladimir Zelensky, could visit him at the White House this week or next. In a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump said Zelensky could be joining him soon, within a week or two, to sign a deal on Ukraine's critical minerals, as part of security guarantees. Trump added that Russian President Vladimir Putin would accept European peacekeepers in

Ukraine as part of that peace deal. Once we settle, there's going to be no more war in Ukraine, and it's not going to be a very big problem. That's going to be the least of it. McCrone came to Washington as part of efforts by European leaders to coax Trump not to abandon Ukraine. On Thursday, Trump will meet with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Franco Ordonez, NPR News. Mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz have won Germany's national elections.

NPR's Rob Schmitz in Berlin Germany's national elections. MPR's Rob Schmitz in Berlin has more on the results of yesterday's voting. Election results show that Merz will be able to form a new government with only one coalition partner, the center-left Social Democrats, returning Germany to a more stable two-party government that ran Germany for much of this century. Voter turnout was more than 83%, the highest since Germany's reunification in 1990. While the two parties in the center will likely end up governing Germany, the parties on the fringes made big gains from young voters. The far-right Alternative for

Germany party ended up with a fifth of the vote, its biggest showing since it was founded a decade ago. Friedrich Merz says he wants to have a government in place by mid-April. Rob Schmitz and Peer News, Berlin. The 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 Arena has more. 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 going to 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. Coffee giant Starbucks is wielding the jobs cutting axe. The company says it plans to cut 1,100 jobs globally as part of an

initiative put in place by new chairman and CEO Brian Nickell. Nickell says the company will inform those being laid off by midday tomorrow. The company says barista jobs will not be affected by those layoffs. On Wall Street, the Dow is up 33 points. You're listening to NPR. Veteran NBC anchor Lester Holt, who's been with the network since 2000, has announced he is stepping down from the flagship Nightly News broadcast. Holt, who's been in the anchor chair for 10 years, plans to remain at the network. Setting a note to staff, he intends to expand his duties with Dateline. Transition is expected to take place sometime in early summer.

Holt has been the principal anchor of NBC Dateline since 2011. For the second year in a row, the city of Miami Beach will institute month-long restrictions in an effort to tamp down spring break crowds. Julia Cooper of member station WLRN has the story. Throughout the month of March, Miami Beach will institute $100 parking fees, sobriety checkpoints, curfews, and limited sidewalk seating, among other restrictions. The crackdown follows a spate of shootings in recent years, including two that were fatal in 2023.

We saw that the measures we took last year were necessary and it worked. We had an incredibly successful spring break. No fatalities, no shootings, no stampeds. That's Miami Beach Mayor Stephen Miner. He says that while the long-term goal is to eventually be able to loosen restrictions, there aren't plans for when that might happen. The restrictions go into effect February 27th. For NPR News, I'm Julia Cooper in Miami. Popular food delivery service DoorDash will be paying nearly 17 million dollars to settle a dispute that it unfairly used customer tips to

subsidize the wages of its delivery workers in New York. Instead of allowing drivers to keep those tips on top of their wages, the settlement announced today, Bonairec Attorney General Letitia James Doordash did not make it clear it was being done between 2017 and 2019. You're listening to NPR.