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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.

Live from NPR News, I'm Korva Coleman. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky goes to the White House today to meet with President Trump. They're supposed to sign a preliminary deal that gives the U.S. access to Ukraine's natural resources. Here's NPR's Joanna Kokissis. The idea of swapping revenue from Ukraine's natural resources for continued U.S. support came from Zelensky himself last year as part of his proposal to end the war. Zelensky says the deal on the table today is a framework rather than a final agreement, and it says the U.S. and Ukraine will jointly develop deposits of rare earth metals and critical minerals. NPR's Joanna Kakissis reporting.

A federal judge in California has ruled against the Trump administration's mass layoffs of many federal workers. The judge says it's likely illegal. He has ordered a halt to the firings at some agencies and says these should be rescinded. The judge has set another hearing on the case for next month. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been dismantling the U.S. agency for international development. The headquarters in Washington for USAID has been closed for weeks. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports that yesterday, some workers were finally able to go in and

clean out their desks. Employees who have been fired or put on administrative leave were told to show up at the Ronald Reagan building at an appointed time and given 15 minutes to clear their desks. Former USAID Administrator Samantha Power was greeting them in the lobby. The manner in which this is being done is the exact opposite of USAID's mission. USAID's mission is about elevating human dignity and this is about trampling it at every turn. She says the Trump administration has been moving fast in what she calls the ultimate shock-and-awe approach, not letting the courts and supporters of USAID on Capitol Hill to get their bearings. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News, the State

Department. FBI Director Cash Patel is suggesting the Bureau will form a partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC. It's an apparent effort to enhance physical fitness at the FBI. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports the UFC is a popular mixed martial arts fighting league and it's run by a close supporter of President Trump. 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 U.S. Department of Education has launched a new website called NDEI. The website is a website that provides information on the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Education's training program.

The website is a website that provides information on the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Education's training program. This is NPR News, Washington. You're listening to NPR. The U.S. Education Department has launched a new website called END DEI. The public can file complaints there about diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in public schools. The agency says it will use this tool to find areas for investigation. President Trump has already warned of cuts in federal funding for schools and universities if they continue with DEI programs. Meanwhile, college students in Kentucky are taking part in demonstrations today for DEI.

It's in response to a proposed state law that blocks spending any public money on DEI issues at post-secondary institutions, that such as public colleges. For Member Station WMKY, Samantha Morrill reports. Kentucky House Bill 4 targets DEI programming and other quote discriminatory and differential policies. Some students are pushing back. Brie Yates is a junior at Morehead State University and president of Alliance, an LGBTQ plus student organization that helped organize the demonstration.

Yates says supporters want to be seen. There are people in Kentucky, all around Kentucky, who care very deeply about DEI and will be affected by it if there are changes and cancellations to the program. Kentucky's Day of DEI demonstrations are taking place at all eight public universities in the state. For NPR News, I'm Samantha Morrill in Moorhead, Kentucky. The Islamic holy month of Ramadan is beginning with the sighting of the crescent moon. The start date can vary by country, but Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide with prayer and fasting. This is NPR. James Baldwin was an activist, an orator, a style icon,

but on NPR's Book of the Day, we'll dissect the thing he was most known for, his writing. That last clause kind of reads like a horror story. Right? There's something deeply, deeply ominous about the way that that opening paragraph closes. Celebrate Black History Month with us as we examine some of his best works

on NPR's Book of the Day podcast.