NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-02-2025 10PM EST

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

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Support for NPR and the following message come from Yarol and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Europe has to do the heavy lifting to secure a lasting peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Our starting point must be to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position now so that they can negotiate from a position of strength. And we are doubling down in our support. He made the comment at a summit in London today that he hosted with leaders from 20 countries. He says every nation must contribute as best as they can and that Ukraine must be at the

table for any peace talks. And Stammer says any lasting peace has to ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security. Meanwhile, after the summit, Zelensky met with King Charles at Sandringham. Top Republicans are questioning President Zelensky's leadership of Ukraine following his heated meeting with President Trump at the White House last week. But not all of the GOP is on the same page. And Piers Luke Garrett has more. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana threw his support of Zelensky into doubt on Sunday.

He told NBC News, Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that. On Friday, following the tense Trump-Zelensky meeting, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina suggested Zelensky should resign or change. But on Sunday, GOP Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma told NBC News he disagrees. I'm not interested in calling on the resignation of other world leaders. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont defended Zelensky outright on NBC News.

Zelensky is leading a country trying to defend democracy against an authoritarian dictator, Putin, who invaded his country. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington. A group of U.S. citizens and immigrants is suing to challenge a Trump administration effort to end humanitarian parole programs that allow people from certain war-torn or unstable countries to temporarily work and stay in the U.S. For Member Station KJZZ, Elisa Resnick has more. Humanitarian parole was the basis of a Biden-era program for Afghans escaping their country after the U.S. withdrawal. Two other declarations allowed Ukrainian, Haitian, Nicaraguan, Cuban, and Venezuelan migrants to apply to come to the U.S. with a sponsor.

Attorney Karen Tumlin, with the Justice Action Center, says the Trump administration's revocation of the program is unfounded. The only reason that was stated in the day when an executive order in the memo to follow was that, was the belief of the Trump administration that the catacombs for use of parole is always unlawful.

The lawsuit argues humanitarian parole programs are legal and have been used for more than 70 years by both Republican and Democratic presidents. For NPR News, I'm Elisa Resnick in Tucson. Asian markets are trading higher at this hour than Nikkei in Japan up 1.1 percent, the Hang Tsang in Hong Kong up 1.8 percent. U.S. futures contracts are trading mixed. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A private space company sent the Blue Ghost lander to the moon today with a successful

touchdown early this morning. The lander carried a drill, a vacuum, and other experiments for NASA, and it kick-starts a two-week research mission for NASA. Firefly is now the first private company to pull off a fully successful lunar landing. The music world and fans are mourning the sudden death of Angie Stone. The Grammy-nominated R&B singer died yesterday morning in a vehicle crash in Montgomery, Alabama. She was 63. And Pierce Kristen Wright has more. Stone's music and sultry voice and poetry of love and heartbreak deeply resonated with fans during the emergence of the neo-soul era

of the 1990s and early 2000s with popular songs like No More Rain and Wish I Didn't Miss You. Stone earned three Grammy nominations during her career. She first entered the music scene in the 1970s as a member of the hip-hop trio The Sequence. The group was one of the first all-female groups to release a rap single with Funk U Up in 1979. In a statement from the musician's publicist shared with NPR, Stone's two children said their mother is and will always be our everything. Kristen Wright, NPR News.'s two children said their mother is and will always be our everything.

Kristen Wright, NPR News. A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, is in South Korea today to demonstrate the military alliance between the U.S. and Seoul in the face of threats from North Korea. The nuclear-powered ship is accompanied by a guided missile cruiser and a guided missile destroyer. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington. is accompanied by a guided missile cruiser and a guided missile destroyer. I'm Janine Herbst, NPR News in Washington.