NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-28-2025 4AM EST

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

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Planet Money is there. From California's most expensive fires ever. That was my home home. Yeah. I grew up there. It's ashes. To the potentially largest deportation in U.S. history. They're going to come to the businesses. They're going to come to the restaurants. They're going to come here. Planet Money. We go to the places at the center of the story. The Planet Money Podcast from NPR. center of the story, the Planet Money Podcast from NPR. Shea Stevens Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Shea

Stevens. A federal judge in San Francisco says the Office of Personnel Management had no authority to direct federal agencies to fire recently hired government workers. U.S. District Court Judge William Alsop says that the directives were likely illegal, and he ordered OPM to rescind them. Alsop's ruling protects some probationary workers, pending a hearing on March 13. It comes as the Trump administration prepares for the next phase of mass firings targeting

long-term civil service employees. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is asking the Justice Department to clarify whether or not she or her office is under investigation. She discussed the matter with NPR's Steven Schaip. The New York Democrat held an online seminar encouraging constituents to know their rights, and that attracted attention from President Trump's border czar. Tom Homan told Fox News he asked the Justice Department if she was helping immigrants without legal status to avoid deportation. Ocasio-Cortez told me she intended to ask

the Justice Department about it herself. I think it's important to call this administration's bluff. I think that this is what authoritarians do. I think this is what kleptocracies do. They rely on the illusion of power. She then sent a letter, which she shared with NPR, asking the attorney general if she had, quote, yielded to political pressure to investigate elected officials. Steven Schaep, NPR News. President Trump says he expects to sign an economic agreement when Ukraine's President Zelensky visits the White House today. Trump says the U.S. could gain access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals as payment for past U.S.

military aid. Zelensky has said he's seeking security guarantees, as U.S. and European leaders work on negotiating an end to Russia's war in his country. Trump discussed the possibility of negotiating a ceasefire deal during meetings earlier in the week with the leaders of France and Britain. Ontario's Premier Doug Ford has won re-election to a third term. Dan Karpenschuk reports on Ford's decisive victory in a snap winter election,

held days before Canada could be hit with U.S. terrors. Ford called this election saying he needed a strong mandate to fight the terrors threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump, which could devastate Ontario's economy, including a potential loss of half a million jobs. Ford has been one of the main voices fighting not just for Ontario, but Canada as well. Ford says with this win, he will still be premier in four years when Trump leaves office. The new Democrats will remain the official opposition. Dan Carpinchuk in Toronto.

National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard is opposing a British proposal demanding backdoor access to Apple's encrypted cloud storage systems. In a letter to Congress, she says the move raises concerns about foreign pressure on a U.S.-based company. In response, Apple has since polled its data protection tool for British cloud users. This is NPR. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has dropped several lawsuits it filed

during the Biden administration. In one case, CFPB accused Capital One of failing to pay more than $2 billion in interest to customers allegedly duped into believing they could get higher rates. The agency also accused Rocket Mortgage of paying kickbacks to real estate brokers who steal homebuyers to its way.

Others no longer being sued by CFPB include Vanderbilt Mortgage, Heights Financial Holding, and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Association. Senate Republicans have approved a resolution to repeal a Biden-era fee on climate warming methane pollution. As NPR's Jeff Brady reports, the oil and gas industry have opposed the fee. Natural gas is mostly methane and often released when drilling for oil. It's a potent climate warmer, which is why former President Biden's signature climate law required the EPA to establish the fee. Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the fee a tax. Energy producers will not have to worry about this unnecessary natural gas tax, and the

American people won't have to worry about it driving up their utility bills. Democratic Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse criticized the repeal. Bending the knee to the wishes of the fossil fuel industry appears to have no limits. The methane fee was reversed under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to overturn certain agency actions. Jeff Brady, NPR News. U.S. futures are virtually unchanged in after hours trading on Wall Street. Asia-Pacific markets are lower, down 3 percent in Hong Kong.

This is NPR News.