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NPR News Now

NPR News: 02-20-2026 5PM EST

20 Feb 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

1.28 - 4.224 Lakshmi Singh

Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

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Chapter 2: What recent Supreme Court decision did President Trump criticize?

4.945 - 16.08 Lakshmi Singh

President Trump's railing against the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision today to strike down a tariff policy he imposed under an emergency powers law. From his point of view, the ruling's not the end of it.

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16.18 - 44.196 Unknown

Effective immediately, all national security tariffs under Section 232 and existing Section 301 tariffs, they're existing, they're there, remain in place, fully in place. and in full force and effect. Today, I will sign an order to impose a 10 percent global tariff under Section 122. Over and above are normal tariffs already being charged.

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44.986 - 68.243 Lakshmi Singh

Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows a president to impose tariffs to address trade deficits, but those tariffs are limited to 15 percent and only for 150 days. When a reporter asked him about refunds, Trump said the court did not address it. He noted more than $100 billion in tariffs paid are at stake and would likely be the subject of years of litigation.

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68.223 - 76.694 Lakshmi Singh

While the Canadian government was quick to react, Dan Karpenchuk telling us the Canada U.S. Trade Minister says the court's decision reinforces his country's position.

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76.874 - 95.656 Dan Carpinchuck

U.S.-Canada Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the ruling upholds Ottawa's stance that the tariffs are unjustified. However, LeBlanc also acknowledged that the free trade agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico is up for review later this year. Canadian experts warn that the win for Canada could be minor and that more trade disruptions could be in the works.

96.036 - 116.556 Dan Carpinchuck

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says the president could use new, blunter mechanisms to reassert trade pressure. Canada's largest private sector union also says Canadian jobs remain at severe risk and that workers could face more challenges. The ruling does not affect tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum, autos and lumber. For NPR News, I'm Dan Carpinchuck in Toronto.

116.924 - 129.665 Lakshmi Singh

President Trump says he has not yet decided whether he will use military force against Iran. But as NPR's Greg Myrie explains, the U.S. has now assembled a formidable air and naval presence in the region.

129.946 - 150.887 Greg Myrie

After a month-long buildup, U.S. forces in the Middle East have reached a critical mass. A second aircraft carrier and 50 or more fighter jets have just arrived or will be in place soon. The U.S. now appears capable of a sustained bombing campaign that could last weeks, if not longer. President Trump remains noncommittal about his plans.

151.088 - 158.344 Unknown

Now we may have to take it a step further or we may not. Maybe we're going to make a deal. You're going to be finding out over the next... probably 10 days.

Chapter 3: What new tariffs is President Trump planning to impose?

162.109 - 172.043 Greg Myrie

strike. Iran's leaders say they will retaliate if attacked and they have a stockpile of ballistic missiles. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Washington.

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172.583 - 194.181 Lakshmi Singh

U.S. stocks ended the day higher, the Dow closing up 230 points. You're listening to NPR News. The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the final three months of last year, slowing down more than expected and slowing significantly from the 4.4 percent growth in the third quarter.

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194.702 - 219.328 Lakshmi Singh

However, growth remained solid when measured for the whole of 2025, when the nation's gross domestic product grew 2.2 percent, that following 2.4 percent growth in 2024. More than 30 states have some kind of cell phone ban for schools this year. NPR's Sequoia Carrillo visited one school in Kentucky to see how things are going after the first semester of the ban.

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219.428 - 237.68 Holly Smith

The Academy at Shawnee is a magnet school in West Louisville where Principal Holly Smith says the teachers love the ban. But the students? I think they absolutely hate it. Their phone is their lives. It's their world. Students have to lock their phones in a yonder pouch, a locked bag that they carry with them and unlock as they exit after school.

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238.301 - 244.07 Holly Smith

NPR spoke with junior Joseph Jolly and senior Kwane Lanier to get their side of things.

244.09 - 248.738 Joseph Jolly

People know they're going to get in trouble if they keep it out. They've started to actually focus on work.

248.718 - 265.225 Holly Smith

I don't think that's true. But by at least one measure, the ban is helping students unplug. According to the school's librarian, they're reading more. Checkouts from the first semester were triple what they were in the last year. Sequoia Carrillo, NPR News, Louisville.

265.492 - 279.282 Lakshmi Singh

NASA wants to shoot for the moon March 6. Today, officials at Cape Canaveral in Florida said the space agency hoped to send up four astronauts around the moon and back next month on the Artemis II mission. It's NPR News.

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