NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-27-2026 5AM EST

Episode Date: February 27, 2026

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Coming up on the Here and Now Anytime podcast, squirrels, ferrets, and moose, oh my. Climate change is making it harder to be a mammal these days. Our reporting project, Reverse Course, returns with stories of science in action, from the frozen north woods of Minnesota to the desert of Arizona. Listen to Here and Now Anytime wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingley. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify today to members of the House Oversight Committee as part of the panel's investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Hillary Clinton spent hours before the committee yesterday testifying about what she knew. Speaking to reporters afterwards, the former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State said she never met Epstein and never had any connection or communication with him. The Clintons are giving their depositions in Chappaqua, New York. York where they live. In Colorado, the mayor of Denver has signed an executive order that restricts the operations of U.S. immigration and customs enforcement in the city. As Kyle Harris with Colorado Public Radio reports, that order allows local police to arrest ICE agents in certain circumstances. The order bars ICE officers from staging immigration enforcement actions on

city-owned property. It also bars agents from places like libraries and schools. And Mayor Mike Johnston declared law enforcement could offer medical aid to people injured by ICE. If a federal agent restricted that aid, local police could arrest them. To protect Denver, if we see any ICE officer using excessive force against the Denver resident, we will step in to detain that officer and remove them from the situation. Police said they will prioritize de-escalation in interacting with federal law enforcement. The executive order comes as cities around the country are preparing for possible surges by federal immigration officers. For NPR News, I'm Kyle Harris in Denver.

The body of the late civil rights leader, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, is lying in repose at Rainbow Push Coalition headquarters in Chicago. Jackson died earlier this month at the age of 84. Summer Van Benton with member station WBEZ says mourners are paying their respects. Jackson founded the Rainbow Push Coalition here in Chicago in 1996. Thousands have come through to pay their respects to the late. civil rights leader. Jackson's senior advisor, Reverend Jeanette Wilson, says she thinks Jackson's passing will awaken people, recalling a conversation she had with a young man. And he started recounting the work that Reverend Jackson has done. And he said, I'm ready to step up. And so I think

that his death will inspire a generation that felt like they were so hopeless in despair. They didn't see anything up. Next week, Jackson will lie and repose in his home state of South Carolina before heading to Washington, D.C. For NPR News, I'm Summer Van Benton in Chicago. The State Department is authorizing the departure of non-essential government employees and their families from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The statement cites safety risks connected to terrorism and civil unrest. It did not elaborate further. This is NPR News from Washington. The AI company Anthropics says it won't agree to demands from the Defense Department to loosen its safety standards to help the U.S. military.

As NPR's John Rewitch reports, the Pentagon wants to use Anthropics AI models without limits. The DOD wants to be able to use Anthropics AI for, quote, any lawful use, but the company has drawn a line, saying it does not want its AI models used for domestic mass surveillance or in fully autonomous weapons. This week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatened to blacklist Anthropic over those limits. Now Anthropic CEO Dario Amode says in a statement his company cannot in good conscience exceed to the DoD demands. He says in some cases AI can undermine rather than defend democratic values and threats from the DOD do not change Anthropics position. DoD spokesperson Sean Parnell said on social media the Pentagon has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans or to use AI to develop fully autonomous weapons. John Rewich, NPR News.

The financial technology company Block says it's cutting 40% of its workforce. CEO Jack Dorsey says the company is laying off 4,000 of its 10,000 employees and will reconfigure its business to rely more on artificial intelligence. The job cuts were announced as Block reported higher quarterly earnings compared to the same period a year ago. Block provides payment processing as well as personal finance. Dorsey was the co-founder of the social media platform. Twitter, now known as X. Wall Street Futures are on the downside this morning. I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington.

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