NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-27-2025 11AM EST

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The White House will continue to withhold funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Supreme Court on Wednesday paused a lower court ruling that required the Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in foreign assistance to the organization. NPR's Fatma Tanis reports the agency has been effectively gutted. Those grants funded all kinds of humanitarian and development projects aimed at disease control, migration prevention, hunger prevention, supporting human rights.

And the same process has happened over at the State Department where most foreign assistance grants around 4,100 have been cut. The State Department says they've saved about $60 billion, which is around 1% of the overall federal budget. That's NPR's Fatma Tanis reporting. President Trump is meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House today. NPR's Franco Ordoniaz reports they're expected to focus on negotiations

to end Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as Britain's opposition to U.S. tariffs. The U.K. prime minister visits Washington days after the French president, Emmanuel Macron, spent the afternoon at the White House urging Trump to maintain U.S. support for Ukraine. Keir Starmer will be echoing those calls, and he hopes to woo Trump with his recent announcement of an increase in defense spending as a commitment to boost Europe's security. Starmer says Britain will increase its defense spending to 2.5% of economic output by 2027.

Trump has spent much of his first few weeks back in power criticizing U.S. allies for not spending enough on defense, while his own administration builds stronger ties with Russia. Stammer is also expected to seek exemptions from Trump's proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Franco Ordoñez, NPR News. Israel has released more than 600 Palestinians from jails following the return of the bodies of four Israeli hostages from Gaza. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf reports from Tel Aviv.

642 Palestinians were released, most of whom were sent back to Gaza. Many were Palestinians who were detained during the war, including women and minors, and had been held without charges or sentencing. Others released had been serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis. Their release came after Hamas returned the bodies of four Israeli hostages late last night without crowds or ceremony, unlike previous times.

The first phase of the fragile ceasefire is set to expire this weekend. Hamas says it remains committed to moving the deal forward. President Trump said earlier that the decision now rests with Israel. Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected in the region this weekend to help with negotiations. Kat Lansdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. On Wall Street, the Dow was up 318 points. This is NPR. The FDA says it has canceled a meeting of its independent advisory panel to discuss the composition of this year's flu vaccine.

A spokesperson for the agency says it will make its recommendations to manufacturers public in time for next year's flu season. There was no reason given for the cancellation. U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore has resigned, leaving the agency without a leader. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports Moore cited frustration over sweeping job cuts as his reason for stepping down from the organization. Many Forest Service employees say the atmosphere is tense and chilling, with likely more cuts looming. Maggie Wertheimer moved to Salmon, Idaho, about a year ago to work on a program eradicating noxious weeds that pose a wildfire risk. She says

she was fired this month because she's still on probation. Now I'm here and I don't have a job and I don't have a lot of ties to this community that has really conflicting emotions about my job and my role here. She's talking about resentment toward the Forest Service in western towns like Salmon where these cuts are popular and some still blame the federal government for timber mill closures in the 1980s and 90s. Kirk Ziegler NPR News, Boise. The government predicts that the cost of eggs will rise more than 40 percent this year. Egg prices in the US are higher because of a shortage triggered by an outbreak of

bird flu. The Department of Agriculture is looking into boosting imports of eggs from other countries to help ease prices. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.