NPR News: 02-18-2026 6AM EST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman.
What updates are there on the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine talks?
A second day of talks is underway in Geneva among officials from the U.S., Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote online yesterday's meetings were difficult and blamed Russia for trying to drag out the talks. He also thanked the U.S. for its support. The fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion is next week. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports many Ukrainians believe the world no longer focuses on their plight.
Ukrainians know there are other wars, Sudan and Gaza, to attract the world's attention and sympathies.
How do Ukrainians feel about international attention on their plight?
But Ukrainian human rights lawyer and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandr Matvichuk says this war is different.
But this is not just a war between two states. This is a war between two systems, authoritarianism and democracy.
That will remake the world order.
Putin attempts to convince that a country with a strong military potential, a nuclear weapon, can break international order.
And dictate the rules. She says if Putin gets his way, authoritarians around the world will be encouraged to do the same. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv.
Tributes continue to pour in for civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson, who died yesterday. A group of faith and community leaders met to hold a vigil and prayer for Jackson yesterday in Chicago. That's where Jackson founded his Rainbow Push coalition. The CEO of big tech company Meta will testify today in a landmark social media trial. Mark Zuckerberg is facing accusations that Meta's platform Instagram has been engineered to hook young people.
NPR's Bobby Allen reports. Zuckerberg will take the witness stand and defend Meta's social media apps before a Los Angeles jury. A core question of the trial is whether tech companies should be found legally liable for designing social media apps in ways that have harmed or worsened users' mental health. Silicon Valley has long avoided legal repercussions thanks to a federal shield known as Section 230. It makes it hard to sue tech companies for content users' posts. But this trial is framing social media platforms as a defective product designed knowing the harms they could cause. Zuckerberg is expected to emphasize Meta's safeguards for teens. The outcome of this trial could shape 1,600 other social media addiction cases still pending.
Bobby Allen, NPR News.
The Department of Homeland Security is still partially shut down as lawmakers disagree over how the agency conducts immigration operations. This comes after federal agents shot and killed two American protesters in Minneapolis last month. Details on negotiations between Democrats and Republicans have been scarce. U.S. Capitol Police say they've arrested an 18-year-old man after he ran toward the west side of the Capitol yesterday.
What makes the current war in Ukraine different from other conflicts?
They allege Carter Camacho of Georgia was armed with a shotgun. He was intercepted by officers and ordered to the ground. Officials say the shotgun was loaded. This is NPR. Today is Ash Wednesday when Christians begin to observe the season of Lent. NPR's Jason DeRose reports the National Council of Churches is launching a new prayer campaign beginning today.
The campaign is called Deliver Us from Evil, which is a phrase from the Lord's Prayer as described in the Gospel of Matthew. The campaign asks participants to wear black on Ash Wednesday as a visible sign of witness and unity, to pray daily at noon throughout Lent, and to post photos of themselves on social media with a sign saying, Deliver Us from Evil. The largely progressive National Council of Churches represents more than 30 million Christians from 37 different denominations. It's calling on people of faith to, quote, raise their prophetic voices for justice, compassion and protection of the vulnerable. Jason DeRose, NPR News.
Today is also the start of Ramadan for Muslims around the world. The holy month is observed with prayer, fasting, and good works for others. The religious month concludes on March 18th and 19th with the Feast of Eid al-Fitr. Rescuers in Northern California are looking for nine missing skiers who were caught in an avalanche.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:03
2
What updates are there on the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine talks?
0:03–0:35
3
How do Ukrainians feel about international attention on their plight?
0:35–2:48
4
What makes the current war in Ukraine different from other conflicts?
2:48–4:40