NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-28-2025 8AM EST

Episode Date: February 28, 2025

NPR News: 02-28-2025 8AM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Bella DiPaolo is glad if you're happily married, but she is perfectly happy being single. I would love to have someone who took care of my car or someone who cleaned up the dishes after dinner, but then I'd want them to leave. From yourself to your dog, to your spouse are significant others. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Kourfa Coleman. President Trump welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House today. They are supposed to sign a preliminary agreement on sharing Ukrainian critical minerals with the U.S. NPR's Franco Ordonius reports Trump insists this is a major step toward reaching

a peace deal with Russia. President Trump says the agreement will provide the U.S. access to minerals that are essential for aviation and defense technology. Trump also sees it as a chance for the U.S. to recoup some of the billions of dollars that U.S. taxpayers have spent helping Ukraine defend itself against the Russian invasion. The progress toward peace will continue when President Zelensky visits the White House. Speaking at a press conference with the British Prime Minister, Trump downplayed the need for future U.S. security guarantees that Ukraine is seeking. He has said, quote, we'll have Europe do that. Trump also said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin would respect the terms of

any deal. Franco, Ordonnayz, NPR News. A federal judge in California has ordered a partial halt to the Trump administration's mass firings of federal workers. He says it's likely illegal. The lawsuit involves the layoffs of probationary employees. NPR's Andrea Shue reports the suit was filed by labor unions and civic organizations such as small business or veterans groups. Their attorney argued that the Trump administration and specifically the Office of Personnel Management violated the law by ordering federal agencies to fire their

probationary employees en masse, telling them it was for performance reasons, which the plaintiff's attorney said was a lie. Probationary employees are typically those in their first or second year on the job, and tens of thousands of them were fired in recent weeks, told some version of, you have not demonstrated that your continued employment is in the public interest. NPR's Andrea Hsu reporting. Trump administration officials are confirming 29 alleged members of Mexican drug cartels, including senior gang kingpins, are now in U.S. custody. Mexican officials transferred the individuals to the U.S. under growing pressure from President

Trump to stop fentanyl and other drug trafficking. NPR's Brian Mann has more. U.S. Justice Department officials say that 29 individuals face charges ranging from drug trafficking to murder and money laundering. They allegedly come from some of the top cartels, including Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generacion. In a statement, U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said, "...we will prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law." The Drug Enforcement Administration released a statement celebrating the capture of Rafael

Caro Quintero. He is considered a drug kingpin, and the DEA alleges he murdered a U.S. agent in 1985. Mexico transferred these individuals into U.S. custody as President Trump announced a new 25 percent tariff on Mexican goods that he linked to the country's role in street drug smuggling. Brian Mann, NPR News. You're listening to NPR News. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire have opened in Cairo. The discussions include representatives from the U.S. and Qatar.

During the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas returned 33 hostages. Eight of them were deceased. Israel has freed nearly 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. No woman has ever broken a four-minute mile. But as NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports, a new analysis hints that it might be possible if the fastest woman in the world gets a little help. In 2023, Faith Kipyagon of Kenya shattered the world record for the women's mile by five seconds,

running 4.07. That's a ways away from sub 4, but she ran much of that race alone, without a person called a pacer to block the wind. A team of researchers analyzed that race and estimate that Kipjagon could run 3.59 if she had a pacer just in front of and behind her for the whole race. For an all-female race, that would likely require pacers to sub in halfway through, disqualifying it as an official record. But the study suggests that under the right circumstances, this major barrier could be

broken. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News. The Vatican says Pope Francis' health continues to improve. He was hospitalized two weeks ago in Rome with bronchitis that was followed by severe pneumonia and infection and mild kidney failure. Doctors say the kidney matter has now subsided. This is also the third day in a row the Vatican has dropped the word critical from a statement on the Pontiff's health. You're listening to NPR. Hey, it's a Martinez. I work on a news show and yeah, the news can feel like a help. You're listening to NPR.