NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-25-2025 7AM EST

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

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Bella DiPaolo is glad if you're happily married, but she is perfectly happy being single. I would love to have someone who took care of my car or someone who cleaned up the dishes after dinner. But then I'd want them to leave. From yourself to your dog to your spouse are significant others. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington on Corva Coleman, there's confusing guidance from the Office of Personnel Management on a memo sent over the weekend to federal

employees. It told workers to list five things they accomplished last week. Several agencies told staff not to reply, but Doge Leader Elon Musk warned people who failed to respond they could be fired. Last night, the administration said managers should now evaluate non-responses to those instructions. President Trump received French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday at the White House. And a leading topic of discussion was Russia's war in Ukraine. The visit came as there was a dramatic development at the United Nations.

The U.S. and its European allies took opposite sides on U.N. votes. The Trump administration rejected Ukraine's version of a Security Council resolution and drafted its own. That called for a quick end to the war. But MPR's Michelle Kellerman says it does not specify Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022. While the U.S. said this is just a first step to support a peace process that will eventually include everyone, there's just a lot of concern about how the Trump administration is

going about this. President Trump himself doesn't seem to agree to the reality that Putin started this war and is the aggressor. NPR's Michelle Kellerman, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will be visiting the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay today. It marks his first trip there since joining the Trump administration, NPR's Sasha Pfeiffer reports. The Pentagon says while at Guantanamo, Hegseth will be briefed on operations at the base, including at the detention facility and prison complex where the administration has been holding migrants deported from the United States.

The Defense Department says Hegseth will also meet with service members at the base and aboard the USS Thomas Hudner naval destroyer. Back in 2004, Hegseth served at Guantanamo for about a year when he was a member of the Minnesota Army National Guard. Now he'll be the second senior Trump administration official to visit Guantanamo this month. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem traveled there a few weeks ago. Sasha Pfeiffer, NPR News. A federal judge says immigration agents cannot conduct enforcement in certain houses of worship. NPR's Sarah Ventry reports this follows a lawsuit filed by a handful of religious groups.

The lawsuit was filed last month by a number of Quaker groups known as the Religious Society of Friends, as well as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Sikh Temple Sacramento. They argued that a new directive from the Department of Homeland Security, which would allow immigration enforcement action to take place at sensitive locations like churches, infringes on their religious freedom by making congregants fearful to attend services. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chang issued a preliminary injunction which would prevent these actions from taking place in the plaintiff's congregations while the lawsuit plays out.

Sarah Ventry, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. The House of Representatives is scheduled to consider a federal budget later this morning. President Trump favors this version because it includes all his priorities in a single bill. The Senate passed a measure last week, but it only includes part of what Trump wants and does not feature an extension of tax cuts passed during the first Trump administration. The high price of eggs is leading grocery stores to ration supplies and restaurants

to raise prices. As NPR's Giles Snyder reports, inflation for eggs is getting a lot of attention. The price of eggs may be becoming a proxy for inflation in American minds, but House Speaker Mike Johnson told a crowd at a conservative Americans for prosperity event that there's more to it than that You know the price of eggs is up high because that has more to do with bird flu than anything else Okay, there's a lot of mixed messages out there But obviously inflation continues to be a major problem Johnson was responding to a question about Republican efforts to rein in inflation The ongoing bird flu outbreak has taken a toll on egg farmers. They've lost millions of egg laying hens.

According to government data, egg prices reached a record high last month, $4.95 for a dozen Grade A large eggs on average. The Denny's Restaurant chain is now the latest to announce a surcharge on eggs. Trial Snider, NPR News. The Vatican says Pope Francis rested comfortably overnight in a Rome hospital. He's still being treated for severe pneumonia and an infection. Doctors say Francis has mild kidney failure, but that remains well-controlled. Well-wishers gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican last night to offer prayers

for the pontiff. This is NPR News. Listen to this podcast, sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast Pontiff.