NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-27-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

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This message comes from the Kresge Foundation. Established 100 years ago, the Kresge Foundation works to expand equity and opportunity in cities across America. A century of impact, a future of opportunity. More at kresge.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The Supreme Court has paused a lower court ruling that requires the Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in foreign assistance to the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.

NPR's Frank Langford reports the White House has eliminated nearly 5,800 foreign assistance grants and awards, effectively gutting the organization. The government still owes USAID grantees more than $1 billion. A federal district judge ordered USAID to restart payments by Wednesday night. But the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court, which paused the order. Officials said USAID eliminated about 92 percent worth of the agency's grants, while the State Department eliminated 28% worth. The government claimed a total savings of nearly $60 billion.

Upon taking office, Trump ordered a pause in all USAID funding pending a comprehensive review. He called the agency, quote, in many cases, antithetical to American values. Frank Lankford, NPR News. Environmental advocates are blasting the Trump administration's plans to American values. Frank Lankford, NPR News. Environmental advocates are blasting the Trump administration's plans to rewrite the agency's landmark finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health.

Craig Lamult from Member Station GBH reports there's also significant concern over a plan to slash EPA funding. President Trump said he plans to cut 65% of EPA staff. And the White House later clarified the plan is to cut 65% of the agency's funding. David Cash, who was the EPA regional administrator for New England under President Biden, says that cut would be devastating.

What this shows is a blatant disregard for the importance of protecting the air and water and ecosystems that we all depend on. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is also recommending a reconsideration of the agency's 2009 finding that greenhouse gas emissions should be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Cash notes the Supreme Court has already ruled the EPA has that authority. But he says he worries the high court has shown a tendency to reverse precedence. For NPR News, I'm Craig Lemault in Boston. Health officials in Texas say more than 20

people are hospitalized amid an outbreak of measles that has left one child dead. Dr. Lara Johnson, the chief medical officer at Covenant Health in Lubbock, says the risk is low for people who have been vaccinated. For those of us who are fully vaccinated against measles, the risk, a lot of people are worried about what's your risk in the community. Your risk is extremely, extremely low of having any issues at all with measles. The risk with measles is really for those

who are not immune, who have not been vaccinated. The CDC says 124 confirmed cases of the measles, mostly among teens and children, have been confirmed in the U.S. so far this year. This is NPR News. Legendary actor Gene Hackman has died at the age of 95. Hackman's roles in Unforgiven and The French Connection earned him two Academy Awards. He was also recognized as the supervillain in the original Superman franchise.

Black Sleuthard, the greatest criminal mind of our time. I hereby serve notice that these walls... Authorities in New Mexico say Hackman was found dead alongside his wife in their home in Santa Fe. Two probes are headed for the moon today atop a SpaceX rocket. Joe Palka reports both are looking for evidence of water on the moon, one from lunar orbit and one from lunar surface. The probe that will land on the moon is called Athena.

It's built by the Houston company Intuitive Machines. Athena carries a drill that is designed to burrow three feet into the rocks that make up the lunar surface searching for underground water. The lander carries several other instruments, including a rover that will test a lunar communication system built by Nokia. The orbiter is called Lunar Trailblazer.

It has instruments designed to not only pinpoint the location of water deposits, but also identify their form. Are they frozen ice? Are they water vapor? Are they water molecules bound to rocks? Knowing the nature of the water will be important if future astronauts hope to use the water as a resource that will allow prolonged visits to the Moon. For NPR News, I'm Joe Palca.

On Wall Street, Dow futures are trading higher. This is NPR.