NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-25-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

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Hey, it's Amartines. I work on a news show. And yeah, the news can feel like a lot on any given day. But you just can't ignore las noticias when important world-changing events are happening. So that is where the Up First podcast comes in. Every single morning in under 15 minutes, we take the news and boil it down to three essential stories so you can keep up without feeling stressed out. Listen to the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. There's even more confusion this morning among federal employees over a memo released last weekend. It told staffers to email five of their work accomplishments from last week. Staffers

at several federal agencies were instructed not to respond and yesterday the Trump administration seemed to back down. But late yesterday, the Office of Personnel Management issued more confusing guidance. And Doge Leader Elon Musk, supported by President Trump, warned people could be fired. And PR Shannon Bond explains how the confusion over the memo got started. The government-wide email sent on Saturday

gave federal workers until Monday night to send their lists. But as that deadline loomed, some agencies, including the Departments of Defense, State and Energy, told staff not to respond. Other departments gave conflicting guidance, leaving employees confused about whether and how to comply. And we are Shannon Bond reporting. French President Emmanuel Macron visited President Trump yesterday at the White House. This came on the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Trump has horrified European allies by siding with Russia over the war. NPR's Mara Eliason reports that Trump and Macron spoke in a friendly manner yesterday while still focusing on Ukraine. While Macron spoke about the need for any peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine to have security guarantees, which would include European peacekeeping troops and an American backup, Trump didn't talk about any role for the U.S. to guarantee the peace. He did say he would end the war soon. I've spoken to President Putin and my people are dealing with him constantly and his people

in particular. And they want to do something. I mean, that's what I do. I do deals. Earlier in the day, the U.S. made a stunning break with its allies at the United Nations, voting with North Korea, Iran, and Russia against a resolution that marked the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Mara Liason, NPR News. A new document obtained by NPR undercuts the Trump administration's timeline for a proposal

to buy $400 million worth of Tesla automobiles. NPR's Bobby Allen reports the State Department has paused the planned deal with Elon Musk's electric vehicle company. NPR obtained a State Department document sent to the Biden White House with a finalized budget for electric vehicles. It shows the State Department planned to buy $483,000 worth of EVs and Tesla was being tapped to begin researching armored EVs. That is a far cry from what appeared in a Trump State Department budget, $400 million for armored Teslas. In a statement, the State Department says it's paused those plans, suggesting the discussion began under Biden.

But the document NPR obtained shows Biden officials were nowhere near even testing out an armored Tesla, let alone buying $400 million worth of them. State Department officials would not say why that figure appeared in a budget document. Bobbi Allen, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The House meets this morning.

It's scheduled to take up a budget bill. This is the measure favored by President Trump. That's because it includes spending on all his priorities in a single bill. Last week, the Senate passed a different version of a budget measure, but it splits Trump's priorities into more than one bill. Republicans in the House have a very tight margin, and if they lose just a few votes on this, they could also lose one bill. Republicans in the House have a very tight margin, and if they lose just a few votes on this, they could also lose the bill. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is running for the Republican

gubernatorial nomination in his home state, Ohio. Ramaswamy recently co-led the Doge entity cutting spending in the federal government. From Ohio Public Media, Karen Kessler has more. — Ramoswami said he wants to bring Ohio's income and property taxes down to zero, and wants merit pay for public school teachers and more physical education. And while he hit Republican talking points about what he called the woke doctrine in education, he also sounded a bipartisan tone. — I'll be conservative without being combative in this race, though I will fight to win when

necessary. I will work with everyone in this state, even those who run against me. Though the election is next year, President Trump didn't waste any time and endorsed Rameswamy just hours after he launched his campaign. For NPR News, I'm Karen Kassler in Columbus. The private space company Blue Origin is set to launch a spacecraft today from West Texas. It would be the company's tenth time of a crewed launch. There are several tourists aboard, including a Spanish TV host, a hedge fund partner, and an entrepreneur and physicist.

I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.