NPR News: 02-20-2026 9AM EST
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. The U.S. continues to build up military assets in or near the Mideast.
What military developments are happening in the Mideast?
This comes as President Trump said Iran needs to reach a nuclear deal with the U.S. Trump said it would take about 10 days to find out whether his administration would take additional steps. Trump is set to meet with some of the nation's governors today at the White House. The president initially did not invite Democrats to the annual meeting. It's typically a showing of bipartisanship among state leaders. NPR's Deepa Shivaram reports.
The annual gathering of governors in Washington usually includes a meeting at the White House. But this year, Trump bucked the norm when he decided to only invite Republican governors. The leader of the Bipartisan Governors Association, Republican Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, tried to smooth things over with Trump. And all governors were ultimately invited for the meeting today. But several Democrats have said they plan to skip it. More than a dozen Democrats are also boycotting the formal dinner at the White House Saturday, an event that two governors, Maryland's Wes Moore and Colorado's Jared Polis, are still not invited to. Deepa Shivaram, NPR News.
British police are searching the homes of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The former British prince was arrested yesterday. Authorities are investigating whether he allegedly shared secret documents with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And Pierce Lauren Frayer says this is based on the U.S. Justice Department's latest release of Epstein files.
Police are searching those royal properties today. They're also doing digital searches of those latest Epstein files which prompted this arrest. They're looking specifically at Andrew's emails from the early 2000s when he was a U.K. trade envoy. and when he allegedly forwarded Epstein government travel itineraries, investment plans, which could have violated the U.K. 's Official Secrets Act.
NPR's Lauren Frayer reporting. The government says the U.S.
Why did President Trump invite only Republican governors to the annual meeting?
economy slowed a lot at the end of last year. The U.S. GDP for the fourth quarter showed growth of 1.4 percent compared to a year earlier. Economists were expecting a far stronger report. Amazon has officially dethroned Walmart as the world's biggest company by sales. And Pierzolina Selyuk reports the online retailer got a big boost from its cloud computing business.
The comparison is really close. Walmart sales over last year versus Amazon's came in at $713 billion versus $717 billion. A note that Amazon is among NPR's financial supporters. On the retail side, the two watch each other closely and increasingly compete for the same dollars. Amazon has tried a foray into physical stores and really focuses on offering the cheapest prices. Walmart has grown its online sales and a fast delivery network, drawing more and more high-income shoppers. But Amazon's trump card is its cloud computing business. Amazon Web Services this month reported its fastest growth in years, fueled by the race for artificial intelligence. Alina Selyuk, NPR News.
On Wall Street and pre-market trading, stock futures are lower. This is NPR. Thousands of striking nurses in New York City have reached a tentative contract with New York Presbyterian Hospital. The nurses have been on picket lines for six weeks. Ten thousand fellow unionized nurses at two other New York hospitals ratified new contracts last week. They started going back to work last weekend. Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have secured a rare victory in the South. Roughly 3,200 United Auto Workers members voted yesterday to approve a union contract. And Pierre-Steven Bissaha reports those negotiations lasted nearly two years.
Quinton North has worked at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga for nine years. He says the contract makes for a fairer workplace.
You can't have a lot of little boy network or friendship, like a lot of friendships push people to jobs and stuff like that.
The contract comes with a 20% pay bump over the next four years. By then, production workers like North will be making about $39.50 an hour, which he says is a good increase.
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