NPR News: 02-18-2025 3PM EST

Summary

NPR News Now: Detailed Summary of February 18, 2025 Episode

Release Date: February 18, 2025
Host: Lakshmi Singh
Duration: 4 minutes and 51 seconds

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1. US and Russia Agree to Restore Diplomatic Relations

Timestamp: [00:13 – 00:51]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a significant development in US-Russia relations. The United States and Russia have agreed to broadly pursue the restoration of staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow. Additionally, both nations will form a high-level team focused on ending the war in Ukraine, enhancing economic ties, and improving diplomatic relations.

Marco Rubio emphasized the importance of this agreement:

"I think it's important to have this meeting because we haven't really had much engagement with the Russians for almost three years and it sets the table for future conversations. How that turns out will be up to the parties and their willingness not just to make commitments, but to live by them. That will be tested in the weeks to come."
[00:35]

The talks between Rubio and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, took place earlier in Saudi Arabia. Despite this progress, European allies have raised concerns about being sidelined in these negotiations. President Trump's National Security Adviser, Mike Walz, addressed these concerns:

"The facts will continue to push back on this notion that our allies haven't been consulted. They're being consulted literally almost on a daily basis and will continue to do so."
[01:03]

Notably, no Ukrainian officials or other European allies were present at today's discussions.

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2. National Science Foundation Implements Workforce Reductions

Timestamp: [01:16 – 02:24]

The National Science Foundation (NSF) fired 168 probationary staff members from a workforce of approximately 1,700. This action is a direct response to an executive order from President Trump directing the Department of General Services (DOGE) to significantly reduce the federal workforce.

Jonathan Lambert from NPR reports:

"Notice of the firings came during a Tuesday morning meeting where senior staff told civil servants that their services were no longer needed. The firings targeted employees who recently started a new position or were promoted at the agency and don't yet have the full protections of federal workers."
[01:39]

These layoffs are expected to impact the NSF's ability to fund research across various fields, potentially slowing down or halting new discoveries. The NSF manages a federal budget of about $9 billion, supporting research from astrophysics to urban air quality monitoring.

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3. Civil Rights Organizations Urge Boycotts Over DEI Policy Rollbacks

Timestamp: [02:24 – 03:05]

A prominent civil rights organization is calling on Black Americans to boycott businesses that are retracting their commitments to diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) workplaces. Kristen Wright from PresentPR explains:

"In recent months, a wave of big corporations like Walmart, McDonald's and Meta decided to end DEI policies, citing a shift toward belonging for all and legal concerns. The NAACP is requesting black Americans not to spend money at those businesses. The civil rights group issued the Black Consumer Advisory, saying the rollbacks erode progress in creating an equitable society."
[02:34]

The NAACP encourages support for businesses that maintain their DEI commitments and promote Black-owned enterprises.

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4. Health Update: Pope Francis Battling Pneumonia and Bronchitis

Timestamp: [03:05 – 03:55]

The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis is currently battling pneumonia and asthmatic bronchitis. Described as a complex clinical picture, these health issues have raised concerns given the pope's age of 88. However, Vatican officials assure that the pontiff remains in good spirits and appreciates prayers for his recovery.

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5. Genetic Research Reveals Insights into Human Uniqueness

Timestamp: [03:55 – 04:30]

Researchers are delving into what makes humans distinct by investigating a genetic variant exclusive to Homo sapiens. Nell Greenfield Boyce reports on a groundbreaking study where introducing this variant into laboratory mice altered their vocalizations.

Nell Greenfield Boyce shares:

"Some of the sounds made by mice are ultrasonic calls. If you bring those sounds into the range that humans can hear, it sounds like birdsong. That singing became subtly more varied and complex when researchers genetically altered mice to give them a particular gene variant that's found only in modern humans."
[03:55]

Bob Darnell from Rockefeller University added:

"This is a human language gene that changed and switched early in the development of Homo sapiens."
[04:19]

The findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest that this gene is one of many likely involved in the evolution of human speech.

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6. U.S. Stock Market Brief Update

Timestamp: [04:42 – 04:51]

In a brief financial update, U.S. stocks are trading lower at the hour. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down by 132 points, while the NASDAQ has fallen nearly 50 points.

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections to focus solely on the informative segments of the podcast episode.

Transcript

[Carvana Representative]

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[Lakshmi Singh]

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US And Russia have agreed broadly to pursue three restore staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, create a high level team focused on ending the war in Ukraine, pursuing closer economic ties as well, and diplomatic relations.

[Marco Rubio]

I think it's important to have this meeting because we haven't really had much engagement with the Russians for almost three years and it sets the table for future conversations. How that turns out will be up to the parties and their willingness not just to make commitments, but to live by them. That will be tested in the weeks to come.

[Lakshmi Singh]

Rubio and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, met earlier today in Saudi Arabia. European allies raised concerns that they are being sidelined. President Trump's national security adviser, Mike Walz, rejected that notion.

[Mike Walz]

The facts will continue to push back on this notion that our allies haven't been consulted. They're being they are being consulted literally almost on a daily basis and will continue to do so.

[Lakshmi Singh]

No Ukrainian officials or other European allies were present at today's talks. In Saudi Arabia, the National Science foundation fired 168 probationary staff today out of a workforce of roughly 1,700. And NPR's Jonathan Lambert reports the dismissals came in response to President Trump's executive order directing DOGE to drastically reduce the federal workforce.

[Jonathan Lambert]

Notice of the firings came during a Tuesday morning meeting where senior staff told civil servants that their services were no longer needed. The firings targeted employees who recently started a new position or were promoted at the agency and don't yet have the full protections of federal workers. Some of those individuals had already completed their probationary period, but NSF extended it without explanation last month. NSF has a federal budget of about $9 billion. Staff manage the funding of research on everything from astrophysics to how cities can implement better air quality monitoring during wildfires. Fewer staff will likely slow down the funding of new research projects in certain fields, ultimately slowing down or stalling new discoveries. Jonathan Lambert, NPR News.

[Lakshmi Singh]

A key civil rights organization is urging black Americans to choose not to support businesses that are ending commitments to diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces and opportunities. PresentPR's Kristen Wright.

[Kristen Wright]

In recent months, a wave of big corporations like Walmart, McDonald's and Meta decided to end DEI policies, citing a shift toward belonging for all and legal concerns. The NAACP is requesting black Americans not to spend money at those businesses. The civil rights group issued the black Consumer Advisory, saying the rollbacks erode progress in creating an equitable society. It's calling on black Americans to support businesses upholding their DEI commitments as well as black owned business.

[Lakshmi Singh]

That's NPR's Kristen Wright reporting. This is NPR News. The Vatican says Pope Francis has pneumonia. Officials say he is also dealing with asthmatic bronchitis. They're describing it as a complex clinical picture that's fueling concerns about the 88 year old pontiff's health. But the Vatican says Pope Francis appreciates prayers for his recovery and is in good spirits. Researchers are interested in what makes humans unique. So they recently were investigating a genetic variant that's only found in Homo sapiens. NPR's Nell Greenfield Boyce reports that putting this variant into lab mice altered the animals vocalizations.

[Nell Greenfield Boyce]

Some of the sounds made by mice are ultrasonic calls. If you bring those sounds into the range that humans can hear, it sounds like birdsong. That singing became subtly more varied and complex when researchers genetically altered mice to give them a particular gene variant that's found only in modern humans. Bob Darnell is with Rockefeller University.

[Mike Walz]

This is a human language gene that changed and switched early in the development of Homo sapiens.

[Nell Greenfield Boyce]

The findings are described in the journal Nature Communications. Researchers say this is just one of what is likely to be many genes involved in the evolution of human speech. Nell Greenfield boyce, NPR News, U.S. stocks.

[Lakshmi Singh]

Are trading lower this hour. The dow is down 132 points. The NASDAQ has fallen nearly 50 points. This is NPR News.

[Carvana Representative]

Listen to this podcast sponsor, free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app, by subscribing to NPR News Now [e-mail] that's plus.NPR.org.