NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-27-2025 9AM EST

Episode Date: February 27, 2025

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Winzer Johnston, NPR News in Washington. A federal judge in San Francisco will hear arguments today over whether the Trump administration's firing of thousands of probationary employees should be halted. NPR's Andrea Shue reports it's one of the many legal challenges the administration is facing as it moves ahead with plans to downsize the federal workforce. These were employees who were still on probationary status, meaning usually their first or second year in that job, and a lot of them were told that they were being fired for performance reasons, even though many of them had gotten positive performance reviews and some weren't even on

the job long enough to get a review. So the labor unions are arguing that the agencies themselves had no plans to fire these employees and only did so at the direction of the administration and specifically the Office of Personnel Management. MPR's Andrea Hsu reporting. President Trump is meeting with world leaders at the White House this week. Today, he'll host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will travel to Washington to sign a deal that will give the United States access to Ukraine's

rare earth minerals. NPR's Osma Holid reports Trump and Zelensky will also hold talks about ending the war in Ukraine. Rare earth minerals are key in developing certain new technologies and energy production. Trump described this deal as a very big agreement that would help America recoup its money after footing the bill for Ukraine's war. It's a great deal for Ukraine too because they get us over there and we're going to be working over there, we'll be on the land and you know in that way there's sort of automatic security because nobody's going to be messing around with our people when we're there. Trump said he's not intending to make many security guarantees for Ukraine, saying, quote,

we're going to have Europe do that. He also told reporters that Russia's Vladimir Putin will have to make some concessions to end the war, but he did not specify what those might be. Asma Khalid, NPR News, The White House. Significant numbers of Americans believe false claims about immigrants and crime. A recent NPR Ipsos poll found that people who get their news from Fox and conservative media are more likely than others to believe misleading claims. NPR's Joel Rose reports on the new findings.

The poll found widespread misperceptions, that immigrants on average commit more crimes than native-born people, and that migrants are smuggling most of the fentanyl that's coming across the southern border. Those statements are both false, but the NPR Ipsos poll showed that people who get their news from Fox and conservative media were twice as likely to believe them as those who don't. They were also more than twice as likely to believe them as those who don't. They were also more than twice as likely to believe that many migrants have been released from jails

and mental institutions, a claim President Trump has made frequently without any evidence. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. On Wall Street, Dow futures are trading higher. This is NPR. The Vatican says Pope Francis is showing a slight improvement but remains in critical condition. The 88-year-old pontiff was hospitalized in Rome nearly two weeks ago to undergo treatment

for a complex lung infection. The pope has been able to resume some work over the last couple of days, including meetings with Vatican officials. Oil giant BP has announced that it's slashing its investments in renewable energy. NPR's Julia Simon reports it's part of a trend of oil companies doubling down on fossil fuels. BP's chief executive said the company plans to boost oil and gas production and cut investments in clean energy. BP has already started pulling back from offshore wind investments. The company said it hopes focusing on oil and gas

will bolster its share price. BP's share price fell slightly Wednesday. Burning fossil fuels is a primary driver of human-caused climate change. Environmental group Greenpeace UK said the move was proof that quote, fossil fuel companies can't or won't be part of climate crisis solutions.

The move comes as other oil giants, including Shell, also retreat from green investments. Julia Simon, MPR News. The FBI is accusing hackers linked to North Korea for stealing $1.5 billion in cryptocurrency. The bureau says the theft targeted Bybit, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges. North Korean state media has not acknowledged either the theft or the FBI accusation. This is NPR News in Washington.