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Blaming Ukraine, DOGE cleanup and Leonard Peltier freed

 
Today's INTERNATIONAL story

Trump blames Ukraine for war after US-Russia talks

What happened
U.S. and Russian officials met for four hours in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday, agreeing to normalize relations and open high-level negotiations on ending Moscow's war in Ukraine. When Ukraine objected to being left out of peace negotiations, President Donald Trump responded by blaming Kyiv for Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion and the ongoing bloodshed.

Who said what
The "striking display of bonhomie" in Riyadh marked a "head-spinning reset" of the U.S.-Russia relationship under Trump, The New York Times said. Ukraine and America's NATO partners were "sidelined by a relatively inexperienced team of Trump aides," Reuters said, and Russia was "granted concessions even before the talks got underway." Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his team and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's negotiators discussed the parameters of a peace deal and "the incredible opportunities that exist to partner with the Russians" once the Ukraine war ended.

Ukraine was "not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia," which was "a surprise for us," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "Decisions on how to end the war in Ukraine cannot be made without Ukraine, nor can any conditions be imposed."

Trump, fielding questions at his Mar-a-Lago residence, sided with Russia. Ukraine has had a seat at the table "for three years, and a long time before that," he said, appearing to address Zelenskyy. "You should have never started it. You could have made a deal." Russia, which invaded Ukraine without provocation, "wants to do something," Trump said. "They want to stop the savage barbarianism." 

Those were "some of the most shameful comments uttered by a president in my lifetime," said Ian Bond at London's Center for European Reform. "Trump is siding with the aggressor, blaming the victim. In the Kremlin they must be jumping for joy."

What next?
Rubio said the U.S. and Russia would first remove restrictions on each other embassies after a decade of reprisals, then discuss "parameters of what an end" to the Ukraine war would look like. "No one is being sidelined here," he said. "Obviously, there's going to be engagement and consultation with Ukraine, with our partners in Europe and others. But ultimately, the Russian side will be indispensable to this effort."

 
 
Today's NATIONAL story

Trump officials try to reverse DOGE-led firings

What happened
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday it was trying to reverse last weekend's mass firing of employees working on the H5N1 bird flu epidemic. The layoffs were part of the weekend purge led by Elon Musk's secretive Department of Government Efficiency team, focusing on "probationary" employees hired or promoted less than a year ago. The Energy Department earlier this week struggled to rescind the firing of hundreds of employees working on U.S. nuclear weapons programs.

Who said what
"Several positions" supporting America's bird flu response "were notified of their terminations over the weekend," but "we are working swiftly to rectify the situation and rescind those letters," a USDA spokesperson told NBC News. When the Energy Department tried to rescind layoffs for all but 28 of the roughly 350 employees it fired at the National Nuclear Security Administration, they "could not all be reached" because they had lost access to their government email accounts, The Associated Press said, "and some were reconsidering whether to return to work, given the uncertainty created by DOGE."

The Trump administration was sticking with its mass firings at other agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Emergency Management System, despite "experts cautioning that DOGE's blind cost cutting will put communities at risk," AP said.

What next?
The FAA "purge" includes employees working on radar, landing and navigational systems and maintenance, and despite assurances from Musk and the White House, it "could certainly affect air safety going forward," Rolling Stone said, citing current and former officials. "Holy hell — that was my response," one FAA official said. "How do they think airports and airplanes work?"

 
 
Today's CLEMENCY Story

Leonard Peltier released from prison

What happened
Leonard Peltier, the Native American activist who spent half a century in prison after being convicted of killing two FBI agents, was released from a federal penitentiary in Florida yesterday. Former President Joe Biden had commuted his two life sentences right before he left office, citing Peltier's poor health and lengthy time served. Peltier, 80, has maintained he did not kill the agents.

Who said what
"They may have imprisoned me but they never took my spirit," Peltier said in a statement after his release. He thanked his "supporters throughout the world who fought for my freedom," a group that included Nelson Mandela, Pope Francis, Native American advocacy groups and some law enforcement officials, including one of the lead federal prosecutors who secured Peltier's conviction. Supporters point to withheld exculpatory evidence at his trial and a recanted confession.

FBI officials "strongly opposed clemency" for Peltier, viewing it as a "betrayal of the fallen agents," The New York Times said. He was the only person convicted from the 1975 shootout on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that left FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams and Native American activist Joseph Stuntz dead.

What next?
Peltier will serve out the remainder of his two life sentences in home confinement on the lands of his Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians tribe in North Dakota.

 
 

It's not all bad

The Asian small-clawed otter, the world's smallest otter species, has been spotted in Nepal for the first time since 1839, delighting researchers who spent years speculating whether the animals could still be found inside the country. The injured juvenile was found in November, and forest officers nursed it back to health. Three different otter species live in Nepal, and the government is preparing a plan of action to protect the animals; conservationists hope the plan will include cleaning up Nepal's rivers.

 
 
Under the radar

On the hit zombie TV show "The Last of Us," the cordyceps fungus turns people into "super-strong killing machines," said Bloomberg. But in traditional Chinese medicine, the chili-shaped fungi are "prized as a panacea" and an "aphrodisiac," so much so that one species found throughout the Himalayas, cordyceps sinensis, is "worth four times its weight in gold." The booming demand for so-called Himalayan Viagra is taking its toll on a vulnerable region. 

Since Nepal legalized trade in the fungus, known by the Tibetan name yartsa, in 2001, it has become a "coveted gift" in China, Japan and South Korea. Researchers estimate that the global market could be worth as much as $11 billion a year.

The world's "most highly prized parasite" is an important source of income in the extremely poor region, said Oryx Journal. But its harvest and sale are "often illegal and unsustainable." In 2020, the nonprofit International Union for Conservation of Nature warned that yartsa numbers had declined by at least 30% over 15 years. 

The increasing demand is having a "huge ecological impact" on the region, said New Scientist. Hunting for the fungus has been linked to increased soil erosion, deforestation and the pollution of rivers. It's dangerous, too. In 2023, more people died hunting yartsa than "summiting Mount Everest." 

The trade has also been linked to child labor, smuggling and turf-war violence. Yartsa "needs regulation, and we need to shore up our borders," said Rajendra Bajgain, a member of Nepal's House of Representatives. "It's out of control."

 
 
On this day

February 19, 1942

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, allowing for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. The order is remembered as one of the most controversial actions in presidential history, but executive actions are still widely used by presidents. Trump signed 54 executive orders in his first two weeks in office.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

As he seeks to negotiate an end to Russia's invasion, President Donald Trump "blames war on Ukraine," The Washington Post says on Wednesday's front page, and his "transactional style unnerves Taiwan." Trump's pivot to Russia is "a head-spinning shift toward new world order," The Boston Globe says. The "thaw in relations" between Moscow and Washington "unsettle Ukraine and Europe," The New York Times says, while "Trump advances his own business" interests "unchecked by Congress." The Wall Street Journal explains "the drama behind Trump's power play at Kennedy Center." And his "mass firings rock Atlanta's CDC," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says. For "unclear" reasons, "NASA employees spared from layoffs," the Houston Chronicle says.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Grounded!

An American Airlines flight set to depart from Austin, Texas, for Charlotte, North Carolina, last week remained grounded on the tarmac over a WiFi hotspot named "There is a bomb on the flight." The plane was evacuated and "every passenger had to show their hotspot to police officers," ABC News said. Following additional screening, including bringing police dogs on board to sniff luggage, the flight was finally cleared for takeoff, five hours later than scheduled.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Harriet Marsden, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Evelyn Hockstein / Pool / AFP via Getty Images; Andrew Harnik / Getty Images; Bettmann / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images