NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-26-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

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Planet Money is there. From California's most expensive fires ever. That was my home home. Yeah. I grew up there. It's ashes. To the potentially largest deportation in U.S. history. They're going to come to the businesses. They're going to come to the restaurants. They're going to come here. Planet Money. We go to the places at the center of the story. The Planet Money Podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas has returned the bodies of four Israelis taken hostage on October 7th, 2023. In exchange, Israel is releasing hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli jails. As MPO Sadieh Al-Shalchi reports, the agreement has kept a fragile phase one of a cease Israeli jails. Zempiozadeel Alshalchi reports the agreement has kept her fragile phase one of a ceasefire deal intact. Hamas returned the bodies of Itzhak El-Gharat, Tzachi Edan, Ohad Yahalomi, and Shlomo Mansou, all hostages taken by Hamas

in the attacks of October 7th, 2023. Unlike past hostage releases, Hamas did not hold a ceremony to showcase the coffins, and instead returned the bodies to Israel in Red Cross ambulances. Israel delayed the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners last week, saying that Hamas had paraded the freed Israeli hostages in a humiliating manner. Hamas called the delay a violation of the ceasefire, but an agreement for the exchange was struck earlier on Wednesday.

Phase one of the ceasefire deal expires on Sunday. Talks for a second phase have not yet begun. Hadil Alshalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. As more details emerge ahead of a Friday visit to the U.S. by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, at least part of the agreement is expected to focus on ensuring long-term U.S. involvement in the rebuilding of the country. The two countries are expected to sign a framework agreement involving the sale by Ukraine of mineral rights and resources to the U.S. Financial terms of the deal remain up in the air. Also yet to be addressed is the question of security guarantees sought by Kiev.

At his first cabinet meeting today, Trump largely dismissed any role for the U.S., saying, quote, we'll have Europe do that. President Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon, was on Capitol Hill today for her confirmation hearing. She is a California attorney who's been an outspoken supporter of President Trump. NPR's Ryan Lucas says more.

The Republican majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee appears to be united in support of Harmeet Dhillon's nomination. At her confirmation hearing, Dhillon said that fighting anti-Semitism on college campuses would be a priority for her, as would tackling DEI efforts that she said have been used to apply racial quotas to deny people equal access to education and employment. So we'll certainly be taking a close look at all of those and enforcing the law equally

in favor of all Americans. Democrats and civil rights groups oppose her nomination. They say that in her previous work, Dylan has tried to restrict voting rights, transgender rights, and has opposed reproductive rights. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. President Trump had announced tariffs on Canada and Mexico would begin next month after a month-long pause, but indicated today that could be later. The proposed tariffs against the U.S.'s two closest trading partners

continue to worry many economists, who say the tax on imports would slow U.S. economic growth and raise prices. That's because, despite claims to the contrary, tariffs on imported goods coming into the U.S. are often passed on to consumers. On Wall Street, the Dow was down 188 points. This is NPR. Many primary schools in the U.S. forbid rough play during recess due to safety concerns. Now some in Kansas are trying a new approach, as Suzanne Perez of Member Station KMUW reports.

Allison Renner is principal at Allen Elementary School in Wichita, which adopted what's sometimes called risky play last year. It follows research that shows children benefit from rough and tumble activities. Renner says easing up on some rules has improved recess for students and teachers. It just allows us to build relationships with kids, but then to also help them mediate some of those social interactions and to help them respond better with peers when conflict does occur. Susanne Perez-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer-Ferrer of his so-called gold card path to citizenship that the administration wants to offer to anyone with about $5 million to pony up. Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said today

the program will replace EB-5 visas, which were created in 1990 to generate foreign investment. Those were available to people who spent a million dollars on a company that employs at least 10 people. Lutnick says the president's gold card would not only raise the price of admission for investors, but also eliminate fraud. It's actually a form of greed green card legal residency. Critical futures prices fell to a two month low, oiled down 31 cents a barrel to settle at 68.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.