Iran-U.S. talks; Larry Summers; Cuba gunfight : NPR
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U.S., Iranian officials to meet today in Geneva to discuss Tehran’s nuclear program in what appears to be the last opportunity to avoid war. The development comes after President Trump claimed, without providing evidence, in his State of the Union address that Iran was developing missiles capable of reaching the United States. The US military buildup in the Middle East is currently at its highest level since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford departs Souda Bay on the island of Crete February 26.
Costas Metaxakis/AFP via Getty Images
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Costas Metaxakis/AFP via Getty Images
- 🎧 U.S. threats against Iran and the possibility of Iranian retaliation have increased the risk of a broader war.putting the entire region on alert, said NPR’s Jane Arraf First. Before the meeting between the two countries, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there was a basis for an agreement with the United States on the nuclear issue, but clarified that ballistic missiles were off the table. Arraf says no breakthrough is expected today; however, scheduling more talks would be a sign of progress. At the same time, several Middle Eastern countries, such as Lebanon, are advising their citizens to leave while they still can, due to the risk of worsening conflict in the event of an attack on Iran.
Prominent Harvard professor and economist Larry Summers has announced his resignation to teach later this year. His statement follows a new revelation about Summers’ relationship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Summers is one of the best-known figures at Harvard, where he served as president for five years starting in 2001. He also served as Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton. Harvard continues to investigate Summers and others over their ties to Epstein.
- 🎧 Summers maintained communication with the late financier even after Epstein’s first conviction in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution, said Suevon Lee of NPR’s WBUR network station. The professor’s personal correspondence with Epstein continued until 2019, shortly before Epstein’s arrest on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. Summers has not faced any criminal charges, but the emails demonstrate his closeness to Epstein, Lee says. Lee says some staff members have applauded Harvard’s decision to reopen investigations into Epstein’s ties to professors since the emails came to light in November. Harvard is not the only academic institution linked to Epstein. Lee says the names in the Epstein files include at least a handful of professors and a university president.
Cuban border troops engaged in a shootout Wednesday evening with a boat registered in Florida, according to Cuban authorities. The government says soldiers killed four people on the boat and six others were injured. Cuba says the boat was carrying “terrorists trying to infiltrate the island.” Authorities recovered assault rifles, handguns and Molotov cocktails from the ship, according to the Cuban Interior Ministry.
- 🎧 The government confirms they knew the men on the boat. They were Cubans living in the United States, and the Cuban government had designated some of them terrorists, NPR’s Eyder Peralta said. Amijail Sánchez Gonzalez, who leads Auto Defensa del Pueblo, or popular self-defense group, is one of the survivors, according to the Cuban government. Gonzalez’s friend, Kiki Naranjo, told Peralta that they ran the organization and had recruited Cubans from the island over the past several years to build an underground society intended to sabotage the Cuban government from within. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would investigate the matter but would not jump to any conclusions. Michael Bustamante, who studies Cuba at the University of Miami, tells Peralta that he thinks the Trump administration wants to escalate things with Cuba beyond a certain point, but that could lead to mass migration or regime change, triggering a U.S. military intervention that Trump doesn’t want.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will not patrol polling places In this year’s midterm elections, a Department of Homeland Security official said yesterday on a call with top state voting officials. Kentucky Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams confirmed the pledge in a social media post. This statement comes as the president continues to make false claims of voter fraud against non-citizens, as recently as in Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.
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Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt leads Oklahoma, a state that gave Trump 66% of the vote in 2024. Stitt has publicly diverged from the president several times this year. Most Republican elected officials avoid directly criticizing the president and vote for his policies even if they do not agree with them. Stitt made his disagreements clear, notably challenging Trump’s determination to expel anyone without legal status from the United States. For his part, Trump described Stitt as a “wise man” on social media, among other things. On the sidelines of the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C., Stitt discussed his vision for the future of the Republican Party after Trump and more with Morning edition host Steve Inskeep.
Listen to the interview, read the article about their discussion, and watch the full video. You can also view the conversation on NPR’s YouTube page, a special page First podcast episode and the NPR app.
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Sgt. Misha Varvarych, 28, commander of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade, rejoices in the ocean waters of Daytona Beach, Fla., Jan. 28, 2023. Living with joy and hope has become a weapon against war. He faces a profound new struggle: walking again. He and his fiancée Ira Botvynska, 19, traveled to the United States to receive advanced rehabilitation care and prosthetics with the help of the nonprofit organization Revived Soldiers Ukraine. Their fate changed after he lost both his legs fighting in the Russian invasion amid a growing number of war-wounded amputees. Their seamless romance is not about a life interrupted but rather adapted and embraced. The non-profit organization founded by Irina Vashchuk Discipio has brought soldiers to the United States for treatment because there is a shortage of specialists in Ukraine and hospitals are also under attack. A few weeks turned into four months at Prosthetic & Orthotic Associates.
Carol Guzy for NPR
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Carol Guzy for NPR
Much like the growing number of war-wounded amputees, Sgt. Mykhailo “Misha” Varvarych, commander of Ukraine’s 80th Airborne Assault Brigade, finds himself in an altered reality after losing his legs during Russia’s full-scale invasion. In January 2023, Varvarych and his partner, Iryna “Ira” Botvynska, traveled to Orlando, Florida to visit Revived Soldiers Ukraine, a nonprofit organization that supports Ukrainian soldiers. There, they benefited from rehabilitation and state-of-the-art prosthetics. Together, Varvarych and Botvynska’s romance depicts a life marked by the changes of these years, from trying on prosthetics to a marriage proposal. Their decision to live in joy and hope became a weapon against war. These photos show how Varvarych approached life head on.
3 things to know before you leave
This year marks the first time Lauryn Hill has appeared on the Rock Hall shortlist.
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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
- The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame yesterday announced its shortlist for the 2026 class of inductees, including Melissa Etheridge and the Wu-Tang Clan.
- Prediction market app Kalshi has suspended a publisher who works for YouTube creator MrBeast and reported the publisher to federal regulators for insider trading, according to company officials.
- NPR’s Jane Arraf recalls a mid-February visit to Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert, the other world Star Wars filming location, in this week’s Far Flung postcard.
This newsletter was published by Suzanne Nuyen.
