NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-01-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: March 1, 2025

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Nora Rahm Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Another email is being sent to federal employees telling them to provide a list of their accomplishments last week by Monday night and to expect a similar email every week. It's part of billionaire Elon Musk's efforts to trim the federal workforce. The Social Security Administration announced yesterday is eliminating thousands of positions. NPR's Ron Elving has more. At this point the cuts are to Social Security staff. The

administration announced Friday it plans to cut 7,000 jobs in response to an executive order from President Trump who has said he wants to slash the federal workforce even in what have been considered politically sensitive functions such as social security. NPR's Ron Ilving, social security advocate, say the agency is at its lowest level in staffing in 50 years, despite the growing number of recipients. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is in London where he's meeting with Keir Starmer. The British prime minister is to host an international meeting on Ukraine tomorrow.

Yesterday's contentious scenes at the Oval Office widen the split between the U.S. and Europe on the Russian invasion. Vicki Barker reports from London. On Friday night, Keir Starmer released a statement once again voicing his, quote, unwavering support for Ukraine. On Sunday, the British Prime Minister hosts a Defense Summit of European Leaders, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend, and which comes, as most of those leaders have also sided firmly with Ukraine. Both before and after his own meeting with President Trump Thursday, Starmor has worked to position himself as the ally who can best mediate between the

new administration and a Europe increasingly alarmed at Trump's growing alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. The Palestinian militant group Hamas is refusing an Israeli proposal to extend the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal. The rejection comes after an Israeli delegation returned home from talks in Cairo last night. The ceasefire hangs by a thread as negotiations for a second phase are underway. NPR's Hadil El-Shelchi reports.

The first phase of the ceasefire deal expires today, the same day Hamas said it will not agree to an extension through the month of Ramadan which also began today. Israel wants to secure the return of more hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not have immediate comment about the refusal. Phase two of the ceasefire deal would see the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and a commitment to end the war. Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages, including eight bodies, since the ceasefire began on January 19th in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees

held in Israeli jails. Hadil Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is NPR News in Washington. A jury in Illinois yesterday convicted a man of a hate crime in the murder of a Palestinian American boy. The six-year-old's mother was injured in the attack. It happened one week after the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Ahmed Rahab is executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He says the trial has been difficult for the family. This is one of the worst hate crimes that have been committed in recent memory that targeted an innocent six-year-old boy, a kindergartner, and his mother. The boy was stabbed 26 times, as you've heard repeatedly. You can imagine the brutality of the scene. It was very difficult for the parents to have to live through the details, the gruesome

details, so our heart goes out to them. Prosecutors say that Joseph Chuba was the family's landlord and had become radicalized by the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. President Trump announced last night he'll sign a full posthumous pardon of a player whose legacy was tarnished by gambling. NPR's Amy Held has more in the story. In the history of baseball, nobody has had more hits than Pete Rose. He died last September at age 83, banned by the major leagues since 1989 because of gambling. Rose maintained

he never bet against the Cincinnati Reds, the team he managed. He spent several months in prison for tax evasion. In a social media post, Trump did not say what he plans to pardon Rose for. Using an expletive, he said Rose should be allowed in the Baseball Hall of Fame, an entity outside presidential powers. NPR's Amy Held and I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.