Federal layoffs hit National Parks, veterans' health care and more

Here & Now Anytime

WBUR

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4.6 • 911 Ratings

🗓️ 17 February 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

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Summary

Thousands of federal workers have lost their jobs in recent days. The Washington Post's Lisa Rein talks about the impact of the Trump administration's big cuts to the federal workforce. Then, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine will not recognize any peace agreements made without its participation, as top Russian and American officials arrive in Saudi Arabia for talks on ending the war in his country. Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, joins us to discuss. And, the January fires in the Los Angeles area devastated communities across Southern California. Among the worst hit was the historic Black community of Altadena. Residents Adonis Jones Jr. and his daughter Rochele Jones discuss their community's history and loss.

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0:00.0	Support for this podcast comes from All About Change, a podcast with firsthand stories from
0:06.0	activists who are changing the world like Coda actor Troy Kotzer, the Aaron Brockovich, and disability
0:12.6	activist Shane Burkaw. Listen to stories that give us all hope on All About Change, wherever you get your podcasts.
0:20.9	We have spirit all over the world, there's spirit again.
0:23.6	We brought it back, and it's been less than four weeks.
0:26.9	So you'll see what we do.
0:28.6	And in a little period of time, it's going to only get better.
0:32.2	Today is President's Day.
0:34.3	And I know it might seem like every day is President's Day in the news at least, but
0:39.0	there is a lot happening.
0:49.3	It's Monday, February 17th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR.
0:55.1	I'm Chris Bentley.
0:58.6	Today on the show, America First is not going over great in Europe.
1:04.7	Also, the historically black neighborhood of Altadena was among the worst hit in the L.A. Wildfires.
1:11.5	When I looked at the mountain, it was just a red haze with dark smoke.
1:17.1	Remembering a generational safe haven, now gone. That's coming up at about 15 minutes.
1:25.9	But first, thousands more government workers are without a job today as the Trump administration
1:32.2	continues its purge of people and programs deemed unnecessary by the world's richest man
1:37.9	and special government employee Elon Musk. At least 10,000 federal employees have been fired since last week when Trump signed
1:47.2	an executive order directing agencies to make, quote, large-scale reductions in force. The latest
1:54.2	layoffs hit the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
1:59.1	and the Internal Revenue Service, among others,
	...

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