NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-27-2025 12AM EST

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

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Public media counts on your support to ensure that the reporting and programs you depend on thrive. Make a recurring donation today to get special access to more than 20 NPR podcasts, perks like sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, early access, and more. So start supporting what you love today at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News in Washingtonhington i'm shea stevens president trump's as ucranian leader volodymyr zelensky is prepared to sign an economic agreement when he visits washington dc on friday during a cabinet meeting wednesday trump said a framework for a deal includes

access to uk Ukraine's mineral resources as payment for past U.S. military aid. The deal we're making gets us, it brings us great wealth. We get back the money that we spent and we hope that we're going to be able to settle this up. Trump made no mention of the security guarantees that Zelensky has said are necessary to make any agreement work. The Trump administration is moving into the next phase of federal downsizing.

Now that probationary workers have been laid off, the White House is directing federal agencies to make even deeper cuts. In a joint memo from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, department heads have two weeks to develop reorganization plans. The edict includes firing underperforming workers and renegotiating bargaining agreements. President Trump has suspended Peggy Carr. She's the head of the country's most extensive student testing programs,

known as the Nation's Report Card. Details from NPR's Alyssa Natwani. It's considered the gold standard in assessment of student achievement. The data provide insights on how K-12 students are faring in core subjects, including math and reading. Peggy Carr was appointed by President Joe Biden and had worked at the National Center for Education Statistics, which runs the test, for nearly three decades. The Education Department's press office confirmed her leave but did not provide any

reason. The latest data released in January found her leave but did not provide any reason. The latest data released in January found some marginal improvements but showed U.S. fourth and eighth graders in 2024 still performing below pre-pandemic levels in reading and math. The Trump White House called those results unacceptable and a major cause for concern. Alyson Adwani, NPR News. President Trump is hinting at a second delay of his proposed tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada. As NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben reports, the levies were initially supposed to take effect on February 1st.

The tariffs had been delayed until next week, but at his cabinet meeting today, Trump seemed to say that his proposed 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico would now be delayed again. April 2nd. I was going to do it on April 1st, but I'm a little bit superstitious. I made it April 2nd. The tariffs go on. Not all of them, but a lot of them. But it was also unclear how hard and fast that new deadline would be.

Later, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick seemed to say it was contingent on Canada and Mexico slowing the flow of fentanyl. Trump has imposed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods, but has proposed many others. That uncertainty, economists say, can itself be harmful because it hampers business investment. Danielle Kertzleib in the NPR News. Danielle Kertzleib NPR News U.S. futures are flat in after-hours trading on Wall Street. This is NPR.

The government is predicting that the cost of eggs, already near $5 a dozen, will rise more than 40 percent this year. Egg prices are higher because of a shortage triggered by a bird flu outbreak. U.S. dairy farmers have slaughtered more than 166 million birds to stem spread of the virus. The Department of Agriculture is now looking into boosting imports of eggs from other countries. Hamas has handed over the remains of four more Israeli hostages to the International Red Cross. In return, Israel has released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners under the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal that's set to expire on Saturday.

A rare planetary alignment will occur Friday night. And NPR's Shonda Lee Stuster reports that people across the U.S. will get a chance to witness the phenomenon. Shonda Lee Stuster, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor,

NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Anchor, NPR News Four of the planets will be visible to the naked eye while Uranus and Neptune can be seen with a telescope. Saturn will also be difficult to see since it will be close to the horizon during sunset. Pamela Gay, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, says there will be a short window of time to see the event.

You really want to be outside as the sun sets and be ready as soon as it gets dark enough to start seeing these points of light popping out. It usually takes about half an hour before you can hope to see the brightest objects. The next planet parade will take place in August and four planets will appear in the sky before sunrise. Chandelis Duster, NPR News. This is NPR.

Excuse me, senor. NPR Shortwave podcast has entered the chat. One moment, please. To examine all of the AI-generated content out there. Ads, Google searches, even your social media feed. Find out what happens when AI models like ChatGVT consume too much of their own AI-generated data. Spoiler alert, they could collapse. Find out more on Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.