NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-24-2025 7PM EST

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

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Donald Trump is back in the White House and making a lot of moves very quickly. Keep track of everything going on in Washington with the NPR Politics Podcast. Every day we break down the latest news and explain why it matters to you. The NPR Politics Podcast. Listen every day. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Meaning in the Oval Office today, President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron sought to highlight their points of agreement, though the topic of Ukraine and the three-year-old war with Russia was clear the two diverged.

And there's more lies than there's more. Well, we certainly learned a lot about what the Western allies or erstwhile allies want to do to end the war. Emmanuel Macron kind of laid out his vision for how a peace between Ukraine and Russia would be verified and guaranteed. He said that there would have to be an American aspect of that. This is something that Trump has never talked about. But Macron really laid it out as an existential challenge to Europe. He said, we don't want to live in a world where it's the law of the strongest, where international borders can be violated

by anyone. President Trump, meanwhile, repeatedly demand Ukraine sign over billions in middle rights as part of a peace deal with no mention of Russia giving up anything. President Trump is named right wing podcaster. Dan Bongino is deputy director of the FBI. Trump announced the controversial pick in a post on his social media platform. Here's NPR's Ryan Lucas. Dan Bongino is a former New York police officer and ex-Secret Service agent. After leaving law enforcement,

he unsuccessfully ran for public office and became a right-wing pundit and host of a popular podcast. In his media appearances, he has repeatedly denigrated liberals and was banned from YouTube for pushing COVID-19 disinformation. In his media appearances, he has repeatedly denigrated liberals and was banned from YouTube for pushing COVID-19 disinformation. Now, Trump has tapped him for the number two job

at the FBI as deputy to Cash Patel, putting two Trump loyalists in charge of the nation's most powerful law enforcement agency. The move adds to concerns that the FBI and its vast powers could be used to go after Trump's perceived political enemies. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. The Food and Drug Administration says it's reinstating some of the hundreds of staffers it fired last week. That's according to agency employees speaking on condition of anonymity.

Callbacks at FDA represent just the latest example of fallout from the chaotic downsizing of federal agencies taking place under the Trump administration and the auspices of Elon Musk's Doge. The Vatican says the Pope's condition has improved slightly. NBR's Jason DeRose reports the news comes after a respiratory crisis over the weekend. The Vatican Press Office says Pope Francis has exhibited no new episodes of asthma-like symptoms. His doctors are concerned with what they describe as mild kidney insufficiency. Francis continues to be on oxygen, although clinicians have reduced the high levels he was administered over the weekend. Doctors say the clinical situation is complex and they're not yet giving a prognosis. The Vatican says Pope Francis received the Eucharist this morning and resumed

work in the afternoon. In the evening, he spoke with the priest of the parish in Gaza, as he has throughout the war. Jason Derose, NPR News. On Wall Street, the Dow was up 33 points, the Nasdaq fell 237 points. This is NPR. Roberta Flack has died at the age of 88. A representative for Flack did not share a cause of death, but the singer had been battling ALS the classically trained singer was best known for intimate love ballads And pureth Glen Weldon has this remembrance Roberta flack is the only solo artist to win the Grammy for record of the year two years in a row first in 1973 for the first time ever I saw your face and again in 1974 for Killing Me Softly with his song.

Flack trained in classical piano at Howard University and was discovered at a Washington, D.C. nightclub where she accompanied herself singing jazz, blues, and pop standards. Flack channeled deep wells of emotion in hit songs like Where Is the Love, The Closer I Get to You, and Making Love. Glenn Weldon, NPR News. In his annual letter to shareholders over the weekend, billionaire investor Warren Buffett talked about some of the successes of his Berkshire Hathaway company since taking over a struggling New England textile firm. In the 60 years since, Buffett has converted it into a massive investment fund, which owns shares in more than 70 companies, including everything from Apple to Coca-Cola to Bank

of America. Buffett has already announced that Greg Able will succeed him as CEO. Crude oil futures prices gained ground amid ongoing uncertainty over the favor of Russia-Ukraine peace initiative, oil up 30 cents a barrel to settle at 70.70 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. The Explosive New Podcast Series exposes a multi-billion dollar criminal empire where thousands are being forced to scam others under the threat of death. Follow Scam Factory wherever you get your podcasts.