NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-02-2025 6PM EST

Episode Date: March 2, 2025

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JANENE HIRST, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, WASHINGTON. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Europe has to do the heavy lifting to secure a lasting peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. KEIR STARMER, BIRTH OF THE EU, U.S. MINISTER, WASHINGTON. 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 that he hosted today with leaders from 20

countries. Starmer says every nation must contribute as best as they can and that Ukraine must be at the table for any peace talks. And he says any lasting peace has to ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security. Israel is stopping all humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza. The move comes after Hamas rejected a new Israeli proposal to free more hostages before holding talks on a permanent end to the war. And here's Danielle Estrin has more from Tel Aviv. The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire is now over. The two sides were meant to negotiate a second phase with talks on a permanent end of the war.

Israel has announced a new proposal to extend the ceasefire by seven weeks and for Hamas to release half of its hostages at the start and then hold talks toward a permanent end of the war. Israel says it's a proposal from U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff. There was no immediate U.S. comment. Hamas says the newest proposal is an attempt to evade the original deal and called for immediate talks for the second stage of the ceasefire. In response to Hamas's position, Israel says it's blocking all further goods and supplies to Gaza. Danielle Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. A judge in Washington says President Trump can't fire the head of a federal watchdog

agency without cause. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson says Trump's bid to remove the special counsel, Hampton Dellinger, was unlawful. The Trump administration says it will appeal. It's a legal battle over the president's authority to oust the head of the independent agency that's likely headed back to the Supreme Court. The judge says allowing the president to remove the special counsel at will would have a chilling effect

on Dellinger's crucial duties. Well, it could be a volatile week on Wall Street with President Trump threatening to reimpose tariffs on Canada and Mexico. 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. You're listening to NPR News. A Texas-based company has successfully landed a robotic probe on the surface of the moon, the first private company to do so without it crashing or falling over. As NPR's Jeff Romfield reports, more landings could be coming soon.

The small probe was built by Firefly Aerospace. Early Sunday morning it left its orbit around the moon and began its descent to the lunar surface. After a nail-biting few minutes, mission control confirmed touchdown. IMU reports lunar gravity and it is stable. Y'all suck to land it. We're on the moon. The landing makes the company the second commercial venture to land on the moon, and more private probes are on their way.

In just a few days, the firm Intuitive Machines is set to make a landing attempt near the South Pole, and in May, a Japanese company will also try to get its probe to the surface of the moon. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. In South Carolina, a wildfire is spreading quickly in Carolina Forest, that's near Myrtle Beach, forcing people to flee their homes. The state's Forestry Commission says the fire has burned around 1,200 acres. Officials say so far, no buildings have been destroyed and no injuries reported. South Carolina's Governor Henry McMaster has issued a state of emergency.

There is also a fire burning in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina on the border with South Carolina that is threatening to communities. So far, it's burned around 400 acres of land, and the North Carolina State Forest Service says it is zero percent contained. I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington.