NPR News: 02-07-2026 2PM EST
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What deadline has the U.S. set for Ukraine and Russia to end their war?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. The U.S. has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach an agreement to end their war, according to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.
President Volodymyr Zelensky says the U.S. plans to pressure both sides to meet the timeline to end the near four-year war in less than four months. He also said the U.S. and Russia are preparing to sign an economic deal worth $12 trillion after Russia presented the U.S. with a lucrative proposal. Zelensky says the plan was uncovered by Ukrainian intelligence. He says Ukraine is ready to make concessions to end the war, but it must be on acceptable terms. Ukrainians say Russia has never wavered from its maximalist demands, yet Trump treats both the victim and aggressor as equally responsible. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Izum, Ukraine.
The Office of Personnel Management has issued a final rule giving President Trump the authority to reclassify some federal workers. as at-will employees, fireable for any reason. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports it's a change that Trump has pushed for since the end of his first term.
The new rule gives President Trump the power to move federal employees in, quote, policy-influencing roles into a new category of employees who can be fired for any reason. The administration says the rule will make it easier for agencies to get rid of poor performers and also those who are intentionally obstructing the president's agenda. The government previously estimated some 50,000 positions could be moved. Currently, only 4,000 political appointees can be fired at will. While agencies can recommend positions to be reclassified, Trump will make the final decision. Trump's critics say the change will take the country back to a spoil system that existed in the 1800s, one marked by corruption, incompetence, and ineffective government.
Andrea Hsu and PR News.
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled this week that Oregonians charged with crimes who cannot get timely legal representation from the state must have their cases dismissed. Conrad Wilson from Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.
In a unanimous decision, the Oregon Supreme Court said defendants' criminal charges must be dismissed if the state fails to provide a public defender within 60 or 90 days after the first court appearance, depending on the severity of the charges. Under this decision, prosecutors would still be allowed to refile a case later on so long as the state is able to provide counsel. We have been living in this public defense crisis for several years now. Nadia Dahab is the attorney who argued the case on behalf of unrepresented people before the state Supreme Court. These ongoing constitutional violations have become the norm. Both the U.S. and Oregon constitutions say people charged with a crime have a right to an attorney.
For NPR News, I'm Conrad Wilson in Portland.
This is NPR News. Security is heightened in Islamabad, Pakistan, after the bombing of a Shiite Muslim mosque yesterday. A suicide bomber detonated the bomb during Friday prayers, killing at least 31 others. At least 169 people were wounded. Officials say four suspects are in custody, believed to have helped plan the attack. An affiliate of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility. It's a Sunni group that has targeted Pakistan's Shiite minority in the past. It's been a tough first day for U.S. skiers in the Italian Alps as competition at the Winter Olympics gets underway. In men's downhill racing and a women's cross-country ski race, U.S. athletes finished well out of medal range. NPR's Brian Mann reports.
U.S. cross-country skier Jessie Diggins is a big medal favorite at these Olympics. But in her first 20-kilometer outing, she finished more than two minutes behind Sweden's Frida Karlsson, who captured gold in a dominant performance. Diggins collapsed in the snow after the final sprint. Her best shot at a medal comes next week in a shorter 10K race. In the downhill, U.S. men's alpine racers Bryce Bennett and Ryan Cochran-Siegel also finished well off the podium with the medals going to skiers from Switzerland and Italy.
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