NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-28-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

NPR News: 02-28-2025 5PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Spats between world leaders occur rarely in real time, like today's all-of-the-office dispute between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Donald Trump, a combative exchange over how to negotiate a settlement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, erupting with Trump accusing his Ukrainian counterpart of disrespecting the U.S., being insufficiently grateful grateful and not wanting to reach a deal to end the conflict. You don't have the cards, but once we sign that deal, you're in a much better position. But you're not acting at all thankful, and that's not a nice thing.

I'll be honest, that's not a nice thing. All right, I think we've seen enough. What do you think? This is going to be great television, I will say that. Zelensky left the White House without any signed framework for an agreement at the abrupt end of the meeting, seeming to signal weakening U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russian occupation forces. Nearly two weeks after a drone struck the roof of a melted-down

reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine workers are still battling a smoldering fire in the roof of the structure. MPR's Jeff Braunfiel has that story. The fire is in a giant arch constructed over Chernobyl's Unit 4 reactor, which melted down in 1986. In mid-February, it was struck by a drone. The explosion blasted a hole in the metal arch and set ablaze insulation between layers of the roof. Workers have been injecting water to put the fires out. Radiation levels remain normal, according

to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency also says its experts have examined pieces of the drone and concluded it was an Iranian design currently used by Russia in the conflict in Ukraine. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. Texas health officials say an outbreak of measles in the South Plains region of the state has now grown to 146 cases. That's an increase of 22 confirmed cases since Tuesday. Empress Maria Gordoy has more.

The Texas Department of Health Services says 20 patients have now been hospitalized with measles. Most of the cases are in children and adolescents under the age of 17. The vast majority of people infected were unvaccinated. 98 of the cases are in Gaines County, Texas, where the outbreak began. Cases have now spread to eight other counties. Earlier this week, Texas health officials reported that a school-aged child had died of measles in the state.

It was the first measles death reported in the U.S. since 2015. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to mankind. Health officials say more measles cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and surrounding regions. Maria Godoy, NPR News. The Vatican says Pope Francis suffered another respiratory incident today that required mechanical ventilation, though officials say the pontiff responded well and remained conscious and alert throughout the procedure. Stocks gained ground on Wall Street today.

The Dow was up more than 600 points. The Nasdaq rose 302 points. This is NPR. Authorities investigating the deaths of Oscar winner Gene Hackman and his wife say they're awaiting more details from their autopsies to determine why they died. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza is saying today the couple and one of their dogs appeared to have been dead for some time before their bodies were found by a worker at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Officials say there were no signs of foul play. They're awaiting toxicology tests. California's adoption rate for electric vehicles is higher than anywhere in the nation, but as Tesla CEO Elon Musk takes a central role in the Trump administration, CapRadio's Laura Fitzgerald reports some Tesla drivers in the blue state are feeling conflicted. Fred Liao has a sticker on the back of his Model 3 that says, I bought this before Elon went crazy.

I felt ashamed driving Tesla now. I don't think it's right to very rich people to influence our decision-making process in the so kind of direct way. Some Tesla drivers have even said they're considering selling their cars. James Salih, an EV expert at UC Berkeley, says California's EV market could start to feel the impact.

Because that's such a large part of the market, I think there's a very real chance that this can have an effect on the market overall. So Lee says it's possible EVs could become more appealing in ritter parts of the country. For NPR News, I'm Laura Fitzgerald in Berkeley. Some jurisdictions have been trying to do away with gas stoves citing their detrimental economic or environmental in Berkeley.