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0Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. As President Trump expresses doubts [怀疑] about helping defend NATO allies [北约盟友] and seeks to pressure Russia and its war against Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky heads to Saudi Arabia [沙特阿拉伯] next week. NPR's Joanna Kakissa says more. Writing on social media, Zelensky said he will meet with Crown Prince [王子] Mohammed bin Salman [萨勒曼] in Riyadh [利雅得] on Monday. Then his team will stay in Saudi Arabia to talk with Trump administration delegates [代表团] later in the week about a framework [框架] for ending Russia's war on Ukraine. It's the first meeting between the U.S. and Ukraine since President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance publicly berated [痛斥] Zelensky in the Oval Office on February 28th. Since the incident, Zelensky's popularity [支持率] at home has increased by more than 11 percentage points. A new public opinion poll [民意调查] shows that 68 percent of Ukrainians trust him as a leader. Joanna Kakissa, NPR News, Kiev.
Parents in Maine [缅因州] were being told not to register their newborns for a social security number [美国的社会安全保障号码，类似身份证号，但是需要保密] at the hospital. Now the agency is reversing course [撤销操作] and issued an apology [致歉]. Maine Public Radio's Patty White reports the change could have forced new parents to travel to a social security office. In a statement on the SSA [社会安全保障局] website, Acting [代理的] Commissioner Lee Dudek said he realized he created an undue [过度的，不适当的] burden when he ended the enumeration at birth program [出生时计数] in Maine. That process has been in place across the country since the 1980s. Maine providers were alerted [警示] Wednesday that the popular program had been suspended [中断]. Dr. Joe Anderson of the Maine chapter [分布] of the American Academy of Pediatrics [美国儿医学会] said he's concerned the program was terminated so suddenly. We just got an email saying, effective immediately, we're not doing this anymore. And that just doesn't seem like an efficient way for our government to operate ever. In his statement, Acting Commissioner Dudek said, quote, as a leader, I will admit my mistakes and make them right. For NPR News, I'm Patty White in Lewiston, Maine.
Wallstreet has evolved a week as President Trump implemented, then delayed tariffs. More from NPR's Maria Aspen. American businesses are feeling the whiplash [长鞭效应] of President Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs [关税] against Canada, Mexico, and China. So are investors. Major stock indices [指数] plunged [暴跌] when the tariffs went into effect, then rallied [上升] the first time Trump gave a partial reprieve [暂缓], but still ended down for the week. NYU professor Anna Tavis says that business owners don't like this news onslaught [新闻轰炸] any more than consumers. Businesses don't like uncertainty. And some businesses are really worried about the tariffs becoming permanent [永久的], especially the automakers [汽车制造商], retailers [零售商], and other consumer-facing companies that would be directly affected. BestBuy CEO warned this week that price increases for American consumers are, quote, highly likely. Maria Aspen, NPR News, New York. You're listening to NPR News in Washington.
Authorities in Santa Fe [圣塔菲], New Mexico today have revealed new information on the deaths last month of actor Gene Hackman and his wife at their home [可见02282025日新闻]. In both cases, health officials ruling out foul play [不正当的行为]. The state's medical examiner [检察官] said today it appears Hackman's wife, 65-year-old Betsy Arakawa, died before him after contracting [感染] the Hantavirus [汉坦病毒], a rare [少见的] but potentially fatal [可能致命的] disease, from infected rodent droppings [感染老鼠的粪便]. Authorities say the cause of death for 95-year-old Gene Hackman, whose body was found near an entryway to the couple's home, was heart disease and advanced Alzheimer's [阿兹海默症]. He apparently [看上去] died some days after his wife.
Some small eaglets [小鹰] are getting lots of attention in Big Bear, California. As NPR's Amy Held reports, a live eagle cam [摄像头] stationed on a treetop nest documented [记录] the hatching [孵蛋] of two birds this week. 145 feet up a pine [松树] tree in the San Bernardino Mountains. Eagle-eyed viewers are watching the ritual [仪式] of a new family nesting. It's been a big week for parents Shadow and Jackie as one, then another, eaglet hatched. The camera was installed by non-profit friends of the Big Bear Valley more than a decade ago, and hundreds of thousands have followed online. What's been a roller coaster [大起大落的] journey at times, some eggs never hatched. Now, these fuzzy [毛茸茸的], hungry eaglets are keeping their parents on their talons [爪子，此处指让老鹰夫妻忙着找吃的], with feeding and warming duties as a snowstorm blankets [覆盖] the nest. And anticipation [期待] builds for a family of five. Already, a little beak [鸟的喙] was seen cracking [从缝隙中出现] through the third egg. Amy Held, NPR News.
Crude oil futures prices gained ground, though were traded slightly from session highs, oil up 68 cents a barrel in New York.
