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Windsor Johnston
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. Russian, Ukrainian and American officials are meeting in Switzerland this week for another round of negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. NPR's Charles mainnes reports. The talk come as the Russian invasion nears its four year mark.
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Political Analyst
President Trump's preferred negotiators for seemingly everything these days. That's White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son in law Jared Kushner. They're representing the US and they've been rather upbeat about the prospect for a deal. But in remarks at the Munich security conference over the weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was far more cautious, particularly when it came to Russia.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio
The answer is we don't know. We don't know the Russians are serious about ending the war. They say they are and under what terms they were willing to do it and whether we can find terms that are acceptable to Ukraine upon that Russia will always agree to, but we're going to continue to test it.
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Windsor Johnston
The talks get underway in Geneva on Tuesday. An estimated 6,000 North Korean troops have been killed or wounded fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. That's according to South Korea's intelligence agency. Ashish Valentine reports. North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has been paying tribute to the war casualties in recent months.
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Ashish Valentine
Pyongyang's home to a memorial wall and a museum honoring North Korea's war dead in Ukraine. And the state's now giving families of those soldiers new housing in the capital city. State media showed Kim Jong Un walking through the new neighborhood with his teenage daughter, who many analysts believe may be his potential successor. One photo shows Kim holding the hand of a father that lost his son in the war, crying as he and his wife sit down on sofas in their brand new living room. Kim said in a speech the homes were meant to honor the spirit and sacrifice of the troops and to allow their families to live happily. North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers as well as artillery and missiles to aid the Russian military in Ukraine. For NPR News, I'm Ashish Valentine. In Taipei.
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Windsor Johnston
The stock market is closed today in observance of President's Day. NPR's Scott Horsley reports. Investors will be on the lookout for some key economic signals later this week.
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Scott Horsley
Stock markets were also closed overnight in Beijing and Seoul ahead of the lunar new year, which begins tomorrow. Stocks rose in Hong Kong during a half day session, but fell in Tokyo after the Japanese government reported slower than expected economic growth during the fourth quarter. Here in the US we'll get fourth quarter GDP numbers on Friday, along with a report card on inflation from the Commerce Department, which is closely watched by the Federal Reserve. Walmart is set to report quarterly earnings on Thursday. The discount retailer has been thriving in a period when many shoppers are looking for ways to cut corners. This will be Walmart's first quarterly report since John Furner took over as CEO. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
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Windsor Johnston
Stocks resumed trading on Wall street on Tuesday. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. New polling from the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research center shows about 7 in 10Americans disapprove how President Trump is handling Greenland. That's a higher disapproval rate for more than Trump's foreign policy. Overall, about 24% approve of his approach. People are spending more for chocolate these days. NPR's Amy Held reports.
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Amy Held
Chocolate prices are up some 14% compared to a year ago, even though the global price of cocoa is down around 50%. Weather conditions have improved in West Africa, the world's top cocoa producer. Companies like Hershey often have long term contracts and it can take a while to pass on savings. Then there are ongoing tariffs on European chocolates. The bittersweet news, love for chocolate may be constant, but the market is volatile and between levies and climate change, prices could surge again. As of now, though, analysts say cost savings may reach consumers by 2027. Amy Held, NPR News.
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Windsor Johnston
Chinese tech firm ByteDance says it's taking steps to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property on its AI video generator, Sea Dance. American studios, including Disney and Paramount, are threatening to take legal action. They're accusing ByteDance of using copyrighted content to train its AI tool. In a statement, Baydance says it's strengthening safeguards to prevent the unauthorized use of intellectual property. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.
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