NPR News: 02-18-2026 8PM EST
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Why is Greenland not for sale according to Denmark?
Greenland has said it is not for sale. Denmark has said it can't even legally sell Greenland. And whether Trump can or will or should try to control or purchase a territory that does not want to be sold is one question. But on Planet Money, we are more interested in how we even got to this moment and how we might gracefully get out of it. Listen to Planet Money on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. The US military looks to be sending even more ships and top-of-the-line warplanes into the Middle East. This comes as the U.S. and Iran are still discussing a possible nuclear deal. Here's NPR's Greg Myhre.
The Pentagon isn't talking about the U.S. military buildup. But flight tracking groups on social media say the U.S. is moving around 50 more fighter jets to countries near Iran. And President Trump has confirmed a second aircraft carrier is on the way. Trump is intentionally vague about what he wants to achieve. He says he favors a nuclear deal with Iran, which would necessitate more negotiations. Yet he's also voiced support for regime change in that country, which would likely require a major U.S. military operation. Iran says it's prepared to retaliate if attacked by the U.S. or Israel. Greg Myhre, NPR News, Washington.
A new study from Johns Hopkins University shows the now-expired expanded Affordable Care Act premium tax credits drove major increases in health insurance enrollment. Scott Malcioni with member station WYPR has more.
Subsidies enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic led to significant enrollment gains among children, Black and Hispanic people, and those who live in rural areas, according to the data analysis. In total, researchers found the number of people enrolled in health insurance increased about 7% after the subsidies were implemented in 2021. Paul Jacobs is a health policy scientist at JHU.
Effectively with these enhanced tax credits, we ran a five-year natural experiment on what happens when you make insurance affordable. And it shows that it works.
What is the current status of U.S.-Iran nuclear deal negotiations?
You know, you lower the price and people will take up that coverage.
The expanded premium tax credits expired this year and were not renewed by Congress. The Congressional Budget Office estimates about 4 million people will lose coverage without the subsidies. For NPR News, I'm Scott Mascione in Baltimore.
President Trump hosted a reception at the White House to honor Black History Month. NPR's Franco Ordonez reports the event comes as Trump has faced backlash over a racist social media post.
President Trump kicked off the event by honoring the late Reverend Jesse Jackson, the civil rights icon who died this week.
Jesse was a piece of work, I want to tell you. He was a piece of work, but he was a good man. He was a real hero, and I just want to pay my highest respects to Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Thank you.
Attendees cheered his efforts to get additional funding for historically black colleges and universities, tax cuts, and work for veterans, which he said helped African Americans. But the president has faced criticism for whitewashing African American history. Earlier this month, he posted on social media and then removed a video depicting former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. Franco Ordonez, NPR News, the White House.
The U.S. stock market ticked higher today. The S&P 500 rose more than half a percent. It's NPR. Russia's war on Ukraine is nearly five years old. Few Ukrainians believe the war will end soon. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports Ukrainians say Russian President Vladimir Putin will only stop if he's forced to.
Ukrainian opposition parliamentarian Ina Sovsun says President Trump seems willing to play Putin's game. He has no real plan to stop this war. Putin is playing at peace talks to play for time, she says, while Ukrainians really want to end this war. We are the ones bearing the cost of the burden of this war. We are the ones seeing our citizens, our friends, our family members being killed. We are the ones who are freezing here in Kiev and other cities.
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