NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-02-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: March 2, 2025

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Noura Rahm, NPR News in Washington. 20 world leaders met in London today to discuss the next steps in ending the war in Ukraine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Europe must do the heavy lifting to secure a lasting peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. He said the effort must also have the strong backing of the U.S. Terry Schultz has more. Now, this is going to require a lot more money, sustained funding, sustained weapons transfers to Ukraine. And eventually, the Europeans say several countries are willing to put their

own troops on the ground to monitor a ceasefire. But there's a big contingency clause here. This will require American help and backup to keep Russia on its side of a ceasefire line. Asked whether he thought Donald Trump would agree to this, Starmer said he'd spoken with Trump last night and would not be moving ahead if he wasn't confident of that. Terry Schultz reporting from Brussels. Starmer said that Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the U.S. He also called for European allies to increase their own

defenses. 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-turn or unstable countries to temporarily work and stay in the U.S. From member station KJZZ, Elissa Fresick 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. Karen Tumlin, U. the day when an executive order in the memo to follow was that was the belief of the Trump administration that the cataclysmal 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. It could be a volatile week on Wall Street with President Trump threatening to reimpose tariffs on Canada and Mexico and the release of the latest unemployment report.

NPR's Rafael Nam reports. Investors have long been uneasy about the prospect of tariffs. Many hope that President Trump is just using them as leverage. But nobody really knows. So there will be a lot of nerves ahead of Tuesday when Trump's threatened tariffs on the country's neighbors are set to take effect. Trump also says he wants to impose additional tariffs on China. Investors will also have to digest the latest employment report. The jobs market has been pretty healthy so far. The question is how long it stays that way. At least though the layoffs seen across

the federal government recently are unlikely to show up in this report. The Vatican says Pope Francis no longer needs the use of mechanical ventilation to breathe, and his condition remains stable. The 88-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized for more than two weeks with respiratory problems. Hollywood has rolled out the red carpet for the 97th Academy Awards this evening. As NPR's Mandelit Del Barco reports, viewers can watch the celebration on ABC and Hulu. The show's producers say the ceremony will honor the city of Los Angeles, parts of which were devastated by wildfires recently. The show will raise money for relief efforts.

Comedian Conan O'Brien will host the Oscar ceremony for the first time. I'm going to host it and host it and host it. I'm going to host all night long. In a promotional video, O'Brien says he's up for anything. I'm someone who hopes that things sometimes go a little off the rails because that's where the real memorable moments happen in late night television and on the Oscars. Producers say there will be some surprises. The ceremony will pay tribute to the late musician Quincy Jones and will include a performance by

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo whose hit film Wicked is nominated for 10 Academy Awards. Mandelit Del Barco, NPR News, Los Angeles. A private lunar lander touched down on the moon today. Firefly Aerospace became the first private company to put a spacecraft on the moon without it crashing or falling over. The uncrewed Blue Ghost carried experiments for NASA. Scientists say it began transmitting pictures from the surface of the moon within a half hour of landing, including one that showed the Earth a blue dot in the blackness of space.

I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.