NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-26-2025 8PM EST

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. The Trump administration and an advisor along Musk are telling federal agencies to begin preparing plans for sweeping layoffs of established civil service employees and to have those procedures in place by March 13th. Memo out today from the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget offered more details. And as Mahalad says, the topic came up during the first meeting of Trump's new cabinet.

We've heard reports of cabinet members who advised their workers not to respond to that email some days ago. But today, Trump was trying to show a united front. The president praised Musk, and cabinet members, I will say, seems largely like spectators. At one point, Trump invited the cabinet to speak up and express any dissatisfaction that they might have, but then said that some might, quote, disagree a little bit, but for the most part, they're thrilled. Musk last weekend called on federal workers to email a list of weekly accomplishments or risk being fired. Federal workers fired at the U.S. Agency for International Development will have just 15 minutes tomorrow and Friday to return and clear their desks.

MPR's Michelle Kellerman reports Trump administration officials sent instructions even as they battle in courts over the way they've dismantled the agency. The Trump team started sending out termination letters on Sunday, though many USAID staffers have been locked out of their office for weeks, unable to even pick up their personal items. Now the administration is giving them 15-minute time slots this week to retrieve their belongings from the Ronald Reagan building in downtown Washington, D.C. They've been told to bring their own boxes and containers because they won't get any help with that. The email also warned them not to bring weapons, knives, chlorine, or other prohibited items. Michelle

Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department. The child has died from measles in West Texas. NPR's Peng Wong reports it's the first measles death in the U.S. in years. The child who died was of school age and was not vaccinated for measles. The death was confirmed by state and local health officials and comes after weeks of a growing outbreak that spans West Texas and New Mexico. Measles is a very contagious respiratory disease. It was declared eliminated from the U.S. 25 years ago due to high rates of vaccination with the measles, mumps, and rubella shot. But in the last five years or so, school vaccination rates have fallen below 95 percent, which is the CDC's level for preventing outbreaks. The vaccination rate is far lower in pockets like the Texas county at the center of the outbreak, where the rate has

dropped to around 80 percent. Ping Huang, NPR News. Billionaire Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post, says from now on the opinion pages of the paper will be used to defend personal liberties and the free market. A move that's prompted the editor of the page to resign, Bezos, who also owns Amazon, said on social media opinions contrary to those viewpoints, quote, will be left to be published by others. The move is seen as an effort to avoid retaliation by President Trump. You're listening to NPR. In a showdown over states' rights and the power of the federal government and the Trump administration, it appears to be setting the stage to repeal a long-standing waiver that allows California to set

its own emission standards. Among the things the administration hopes to overturn, a proposed ban of sales of new gas-powered cars in the state by 2035. Whether the administration has the power to do that is not clear. California's ban is part of a waiver granted by the Biden administration. Looming deadline has helped push electric vehicle sales. What happens in California, which by itself amounts to the fifth largest economy in the world, often drives policy elsewhere. The Vatican says Pope Francis's condition has improved slightly over the past 24 hours. NPR's Jason DeRose reports a kidney problem seems to have subsided. Pope Francis underwent a chest CT scan Tuesday night, and the results show what the Vatican

calls a normal progression. The press office says blood tests confirm kidney improvements. The 88-year-old pope entered the hospital on February 14 with bronchitis, which later developed into pneumonia. Francis continues on high flow oxygen, but hasn't experienced any further asthma-like symptoms since Saturday. He continues to undergo respiratory therapy.

His doctors say that despite the slight improvements, his prognosis remains guarded. The Vatican Press Office says the pope received the Eucharist in the morning and continued to work throughout the day. Jason DeRose, NPR News. Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.