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Episode Date: February 28, 2025

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SONIA DARA, MSNBC REPORTER, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POLITICIAN, HOST, NPR POL in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. U.S. and British officials say Thursday's White House meeting on trade and ending the war in Ukraine was productive. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told President Trump that Britain is prepared to send peacekeepers to Ukraine, but he says any peace deal must not reward Russia.

Thank you for changing the conversation to bring about the possibility that now we can have a peace deal and we want to work with you to make sure that peace deal is enduring, that it lasts, that it's a deal that goes down as a historic deal. Trump downplayed the need for U.S. security guarantees and said that a peace agreement with Russia will be difficult. I don't believe he's going to violate his word. I don't think he'll be back.

When we make a deal, I think the deal is going to hold. Trump is gathered to meet with Ukraine's President Zelensky on Friday. Some mass firings of federal probationary workers are on hold, at least until March 13th. A federal judge in San Francisco says the firings are illegal because the Office of Personnel Management does not have the authority to direct federal agencies to carry them out. The Trump administration is ending nearly all USAID's grants. As NPR's Spot Matanis reports, the move effectively guts the agency.

The State Department says it's decided to terminate more than 90 percent of the agency's grants quote as part of the America First agenda. Only 500 will be continued. The State Department says the programs that USAID is keeping includes food and life-saving assistance for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. But NPR has heard from aid groups that life-saving humanitarian programs, including ones that provide HIV medications and polio vaccinations, have been terminated. It seems that some of those termination notices have gone out in haste because some groups receive them twice.

But USAID officials and aid groups are worried that cuts to USAID's programs will lead to loss of life. In Sudan alone, where there's widespread hunger, more than 1,000 kitchens supported by USAID have closed. Fatma Tanis, NPR News. FBI Director Cash Batal is suggesting the Bureau will form a partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As NPR's Ryan Lucas reports, UFC is a popular mixed martial arts fighting league run by

a Trump supporter. FBI Director Cash Patel made the statement during a weekly call with the leaders of the Bureau's 55 field offices. A person familiar with the matter told NPR that Patel said the FBI will partner with the Ultimate fighting championship. The director did not provide any details on what any partnership between UFC and the FBI would entail. FBI agents are trained at the Academy in Quantico, Virginia, a course that includes intensive

training in physical fitness and defensive tactics. The head of UFC is Dana White, who has close ties to President Trump. A UFC spokesperson says White knows Patel too, but that the company is unaware of any information regarding UFC and FBI training. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR. Symboling influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate are back in the United States after someone removed travel restrictions against them.

The two brothers have been held in Romania on charges of human trafficking. A Romanian court ruled in December that their case could not go to trial, although they were to remain under investigation. The Tates, who have dueled US-British citizenship and millions of online followers, insist that they've committed no wrongdoing.

In New Mexico, an investigation continues into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa. Their bodies and the remains of a family dog were found in the couple's Santa Fe home on Thursday. More from Steve Futterman. Authorities say they haven't ruled out anything. It appears Hackman and Arakawa had been dead for some time when they were found. There were prescription pills found near her body. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza says there is nothing to indicate foul play was involved.

There was no indication of a struggle. There was no indication of anything that was missing from the home or disturbed. That would be an indication that there was a crime that had occurred. There was no indication of that. Test to detect any sign of carbon monoxide came up negative. The sheriff says he is awaiting final autopsy results, which he believes could reveal much of what happened. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles.

U.S. futures are mostly flat and after hours trading on Wall Street following Thursday's losses. On Asia Pacific, market shares are lower, down nearly 3% in Tokyo, down over 3% in Hong Kong. This is NPR News. There's been a lot of attention on loneliness lately. 16% of Americans report feeling lonely all or most of the time. The former Surgeon General even declared a loneliness epidemic.

On It's Been a Minute, we're launching a new series called All the Lonely People, diving deep into how loneliness shows up in our lives and how our culture shapes it. That's on the It's Been a Minute podcast on NPR.