NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-27-2025 8PM EST

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

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This message comes from Wondery. At 24 years old, Monica Lewinsky was in a scandal that defined who she was for the entire world. And now she's ready to draw from her own experience on what it means to redefine yourself on her new podcast, Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A federal judge in San Francisco says the Trump administration likely broke the law by firing thousands of probationary employees and has ordered a partial halt to the mass firings. It comes in a lawsuit brought by employee unions and civic groups.

While the government argued that OPM had only asked federal agencies to review and fire employees who were not mission critical, lawyers for the unions and civic groups argued the government violated the law by ordering their firings. The judge stated, quote, I believe they were directed or ordered. That's the way the evidence points. Government also argued the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the complaints. One of the first targets of the Trump administration's federal workforce cuts was the U.S. Agency for International Development. The headquarters has been shuttered for weeks, but today employees and former employees

were allowed back in the building for 15 minutes to pick up their things. More from MPR's Michelle Kellerman. Applause Thank you for your service. Supporters cheered as USAID staffers emerged from the Ronald Reagan building with boxes of posters and other mementos from their service.

This man would not give his name because he's still employed and fears retribution. I'm incredibly bitter and very angry and nobody likes feeling that way, right? You know, we've sacrificed a lot. I've spent almost 20 years working solely on Sudan and South Sudan. He's been detained, shot at and evacuated several times in his career and has been dismayed by the way the Trump administration talks about an agency that until now had bipartisan support. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising a response if the U.S. moves ahead with threatened tariffs against Canada. President Trump says the US plans an additional 10% tariff against China and also wants to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. While Trump has accused the countries of not doing enough to stop deadly fentanyl from coming into the US, NPR's Brian Mann says the numbers don't bear that out. It's almost zero according to data from US Customs and Border Protection. The Northern border does see some migrants crossing without legal status, but the flow of hard street drugs like methamphetamines and fentanyl from Canada,

it's a tiny fraction of what we see coming in from Mexico. The president was asked about this today and he argued drugs are flowing across the Northern border without being detected. Trump offered no evidence to back up that accusation and the experts I've interviewed don't think Canada is a factor in the U.S. overdose crisis. MPR's Brian Mann, a proposal being footporthed by the British government that it be granted so-called backdoor access to data stored in the cloud by device maker Apple is being opposed by U. by US national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard had lettered to Congress saying such a man would violate Americans' rights

and also raise concerns about a foreign government pressuring a US-based tech company. On Wall Street, the Dow fell sharply today. You're listening to NPR. Two outspoken supporters of President Trump who were charged with human trafficking arrived in South Florida today, but Governor Rodney Santas says the Tate brothers are not welcome there. MPR's Greg Allen has the story. The online influencers were held for two years in Romania where they were investigated and charged with human trafficking.

Andrew and Tristan Tate are outspoken supporters of President Trump. The Financial Times newspaper has reported U.S. officials asked Romania to lift their travel restrictions. The two men flew in a private jet to Fort Lauderdale. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says he only learned of their release and plans to come to Florida through the media. Florida is not a place where you're welcome with that type of conduct in the air. And I don't know how it came to this. We were not involved, we were not notified. DeSantis says the state's attorney general is looking at what jurisdiction Florida may have

over any of the charges. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami. For the first time in more than 60 years of space travel, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Rocket Company hopes to send an all-female crew into space. The six-woman crew, led and selected by helicopter pilot and former journalist Lauren Sanchez, who is also Bezos' fiancée, shall be joined by pop star Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King and others to the recognized boundary with space aboard the 59-foot-tall New Shepard

rocket. The three will experience a few minutes of microgravity before returning to Earth. No firm launch date has yet been set. Critical futures prices moved higher today as supply worries re-emerged. Oil rose $1.73 a barrel to $0.7535 a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from NYU Langone.

The NYU Langone Health app gives you access to your electronic health record. Washington.