Chapter 1: What historical themes shape the American quest for life and liberty?
This year on ThruLine, NPR's history podcast. For generations, an American quest has shaped the world. Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. Now, 250 years in, what is that pursuit really about? Join us each Tuesday for an essential new series, America in Pursuit, from ThruLine, on the NPR app or wherever you get podcasts.
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The publisher and CEO of The Washington Post says he's stepping down. The departure of Will Lewis comes just days after he announced plans to lay off about one-third of the newspaper's staff. NPR's David Folkenflik reports Lewis's two-year tenure was marked by controversy and crisis.
Will Lewis had been CEO of The Wall Street Journal and a veteran news executive in Britain, but he was dogged by controversies from his days as an executive for Rupert Murdoch's papers in London. The Post had been running deep in the red, and Lewis's promised innovations failed to stem the losses.
When owner Jeff Bezos killed a planned editorial endorsement of Kamala Harris and made the editorial pages friendlier to President Trump, hundreds of thousands of digital subscribers canceled. On Wednesday, the Post announced 300 journalists would be laid off. Lewis was nowhere to be seen, but he was spotted the next night at an event in California ahead of the Super Bowl.
On Saturday, Bezos announced Lewis' replacement, the paper's chief financial officer. In a statement, Bezos promised an exciting and thriving next chapter for the Post. David Folkenflik, NPR News.
The National Weather Service has issued extreme cold warnings from North Carolina to New Hampshire. Bruce Convisor reports that for parts of New York, this could be the coldest weekend of the year.
New York has already shivered through one of the coldest winters in recent memory, but a new blast of arctic air whipped up by strong winds are making for life-threatening conditions up and down the eastern seaboard. Lows in New York will be pushing towards zero, with winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour.
Lows in the teens are happening as far south as North Carolina, and a large swath of upstate New York and New England were already below zero as of midnight.
That's Bruce Kahnweiser reporting in New York City. Forecasters say temperatures this weekend could run 15 to 20 degrees below normal for early February and may set new record lows.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of leadership changes at The Washington Post?
Polls have opened in Japan in snap elections. If the country's first female prime minister gets a stronger mandate from voters, she's pledged to carry out what she says could be controversial policies. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports.
Opinion polls show Prime Minister Sanae Takeuchi and her coalition turning their slim majority in the lower house of parliament into a more commanding one. But it's a gamble, and Takeuchi says that if she fails to win a majority, she'll step down. A big win could be seen as a mandate to press ahead with Takeuchi's conservative agendaā
including increased defense spending and possibly even revising constitutional restrictions on the nation's military. Japan's political landscape is shifting to the right, with the formation of a new ruling coalition between the ruling party and a smaller right-wing party that favors more defense spending and less immigration. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Hongchon, South Korea.
This is NPR News in Washington. One of the marquee events at the Winter Olympics will be starting shortly, the women's downhill in Cortina, Italy. 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn is expected to race even after rupturing her left ACL just over a week ago. NPR's Becky Sullivan reports.
Before her injury, Vaughn was seen as a favorite for a gold medal in the downhill, a stunning fact considering she retired more than six years ago before mounting a comeback to World Cup ski racing. Her teammate Breezy Johnson is another serious medal contender in that race.
In figure skating, the first medals will be awarded when the team event wraps up with back-to-back-to-back free skate routines, first the pairs, then women, then men. The U.S. was in the lead over Japan after Saturday. There are also medal events in the mixed relay biathlon and men's luge. The American cross-country skier Gus Schumacher will make his debut at this Olympics in the men's skiathlon.
And the U.S. mixed doubles curling team will take on Sweden and Estonia. Becky Sullivan, NPR News, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the Pentagon is cutting ties with Harvard University, ending military training, fellowship and certificate programs with the school. The move is the latest development in President Trump's standoff with Harvard over his demands for reforms at the university.
Hegsett says service members currently enrolled at Harvard will be allowed to finish their courses, and similar programs at other Ivy League schools will be reviewed in the coming weeks. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.
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