--:-- Leila Faldin: An email to every federal employee asked, what did you do last week? And Elon Musk threatened they would lose their jobs if they didn't answer.
--:-- A Martinez: You can't interpret silence to be a resignation.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Do labor laws protect these workers?
--:-- A Martinez: I'm Leila Faldin, that's A. Martinez, and this is Up First from NPR News.
--:-- Leila Faldin: The leaders of France and Britain are visiting Washington this week on their agenda convincing President Trump not to abandon Ukraine.
--:-- A Martinez: Can they sway him?
--:-- Leila Faldin: Plus, conservatives won the German election, and the country's far-right party made its strongest showing in decades.
--:-- A Martinez: And Greenpeace goes on trial today. They're being sued by a Texas energy company for disrupting the construction of an oil pipeline.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Everybody's afraid of these environmental groups and the fear that it may look wrong if you fight back with these people.
--:-- A Martinez: Stay with us. We've got all the news you need to start your day.
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--:-- Leila Faldin: This message comes from Doctors Without Borders. People are living through a moment defined by unrelenting crises and need.
--:-- A Martinez: Civilians are caught in the crossfire of violence and war. Malnutrition threatens the lives of children.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Communities depend on life-saving humanitarian aid. Doctors Without Borders is meeting this moment of overwhelming need with action.
--:-- A Martinez: But they can't do it alone. Help provide life-saving care around the world. Learn how to donate today at doctorswithoutborders.org slash NPR.
--:-- Leila Faldin: This message comes from BetterHelp. It's only human to ask others for advice, like turning to your barista, hairdresser, or a taxi driver for life advice.
--:-- A Martinez: But when you're looking for help about relationships, anxiety, depression, or other clinical issues, they may not have all the right answers.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Instead, get guidance from a licensed therapist online with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR for 10% off your first month.
--:-- A Martinez: This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees, and free perks, Mint Mobile might be right for you with plans starting from $15 a month.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Shop plans today at MintMobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of $45 for a 3-month 5GB plan required.
--:-- A Martinez: New customer offer for first 3 months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.
--:-- Leila Faldin: What did you accomplish last week? Well, that's the question that hundreds of thousands of government employees have until tonight at 11.59 p.m. to be exact to answer or they could lose their jobs.
--:-- A Martinez: The deadline was laid out in a three-line email sent Saturday from the Office of Personnel Management.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Elon Musk, President Trump's cost-cutting chief and an unelected billionaire threatened on X that failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.
--:-- A Martinez: Suzanne Summerlin is a federal sector labor attorney in Washington, D.C.
--:-- Suzanne Summerlin: She says ignoring the email likely would not be grounds for firing and you can't interpret silence to be a resignation.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Resignations in the federal service must be made voluntarily by the employee and the employee has until the date of their resignation to rescind it.
--:-- A Martinez: Summerlin and others also question the legality of the demand.
--:-- Suzanne Summerlin: She says the Office of Personnel Management must respect the chain of command within government agencies.
--:-- Leila Faldin: OPM seems to be running an in-route around that chain of command and directly dealing with employees.
--:-- A Martinez: This is a violation of collective bargaining laws, unfair labor practice laws.
--:-- Leila Faldin: On Sunday, OPM said the emails were part of the Trump administration's commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce.
--:-- A Martinez: To add to the confusion, some agency leaders appointed by Trump at the FBI, the State Department and the Department of Defense are instructing employees to disregard the email.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Still, the directive has prompted a new sense of uncertainty and confusion among federal workers.
--:-- A Martinez: So far, in a little over a month into the Trump administration, thousands of government employees were dismissed, including some by mistake.
--:-- Leila Faldin: French President Emmanuel Macron is in Washington today where he will meet with President Trump in the Oval Office.
--:-- A Martinez: Yeah, European leaders were stunned by President Trump abrupt reversal of alliances last week.
--:-- Leila Faldin: He accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia.
--:-- A Martinez: Ukraine did not start the war, and Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator while letting Russian President Vladimir Putin off the hook for its full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
--:-- Leila Faldin: In meetings today, Macron will try to keep Trump on board with the U.S.'s traditional allies.
--:-- A Martinez: NPR's Eleanor Beardsley is in Paris following all this.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: So, Eleanor, what arguments will he try to try and get through to President Trump?
--:-- Leila Faldin: Well, yeah, Macron's going to try to convince Trump that it's in America's strategic interest not to make some deal with the Russians without involving the Europeans.
--:-- A Martinez: He'll present a European action plan to help achieve a peace deal that is durable with solid guarantees that Russia won't use the time to build up its forces and invade Ukraine again.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Macron must make Trump understand that Russia poses an existential threat to Europe.
--:-- A Martinez: And to do this, he'll be relying on his personal friendship with President Trump.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: Macron is probably the closest to Trump of all the European leaders, with the exception of Hungary's Viktor Orban.
--:-- Leila Faldin: And he's going to appeal to Trump's ego and inner dealmaker.
--:-- A Martinez: In fact, Macron actually told us what he would say to Trump in a live question and answer session broadcast on Instagram last week.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: Let's have a listen.
--:-- Leila Faldin: I'm going to tell him you can't be weak in front of Putin. That's not you.
--:-- A Martinez: He said he'd tell Trump that's not your brand and it's not in your interest.
--:-- Leila Faldin: How are you going to be credible in front of China if you're weak in front of Russia?
--:-- A Martinez: Macron said he would also emphasize that Trump cannot help someone, i.e. Vladimir Putin, who's actually helping Iran develop the nuclear bomb.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: All right. So what are European leaders like Macron proposing?
--:-- Leila Faldin: Well, last week there were two emergency meetings out of Paris after Trump's comments about the war.
--:-- A Martinez: A couple dozen leaders attended.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: France and Britain, who are Europe's only nuclear powers, are said to be ready to provide the backbone of a European military force to secure any peace deal in Ukraine.
--:-- Leila Faldin: That would include boots on the ground, in the air, and even ships at sea.
--:-- A Martinez: Other countries that could join include Finland, Sweden, and the Baltics.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: The problem is Putin has said any European troops in Ukraine is a red line.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Now, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also expected to meet with Trump this week.
--:-- A Martinez: I spoke with Gazina Weber. She's expert in security and defense at the U.S. German Marshall Fund in Paris.
--:-- Gazina Weber: It could be smart to have the sequencing of the visits to reinforce the message and potentially also adapt it and coordinate it.
--:-- Leila Faldin: So if Macron manages to speak for the Europeans and Starmer manages to speak for the Europeans, that can actually be a message amplifier.
--:-- A Martinez: But some analysts say it's already too late for the Europeans because Trump so wants to cut a deal with Putin.
--:-- Gazina Weber: Yeah, Trump has demanded that Europeans contribute more to their security.
--:-- Leila Faldin: So are they willing to do this long term?
--:-- A Martinez: Well, first of all, we have to say Europe has given more for the war in Ukraine if you add military, financial, and humanitarian.
--:-- Gazina Weber: But yes, this is a big wake-up call. For the second time, their transatlantic ally looks like it might not always have their back.
--:-- Leila Faldin: So they are ready to increase.
--:-- A Martinez: Many nations are spending more and say they will, but everything is going on at such an accelerated pace now, and it's going to take time to get those defense industries going.
--:-- Eleanor Beardsley: That's NPR international correspondent Eleanor Beardsley in Paris. Eleanor, thanks.
--:-- A Martinez: Thank you.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Germany is getting a new chancellor.
--:-- A Martinez: Results this morning indicate that Friedrich Meretz center-right Christian Democrats will be able to form a new government with only one coalition partner.
--:-- Leila Faldin: That will likely return the country to a more stable two-party government that ran Germany for most of the past three decades.
--:-- A Martinez: NPR's Berlin correspondent Rob Schmitz joins us now to talk about the results.
--:-- Rob Schmitz: So Rob, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is on his way out which means Europe's biggest economy will have a new leader.
--:-- Leila Faldin: So what was the big issue that decided this election?
--:-- A Martinez: Well, for the most part it was the struggling German economy Schultz government collapsed over a dispute about how to revive it.
--:-- Rob Schmitz: But it was also Schultz himself who been the problem for voters.
--:-- Leila Faldin: His slow, methodical approach to governing did not suit the chaotic times that Europe is in with a war on European soil and an economic downturn.
--:-- A Martinez: You know, these challenges require decisive action, and his three-party coalition government had a difficult time rising to the occasion.
--:-- Rob Schmitz: So it's clear from the results that Germany will likely return to a two-party coalition government.
--:-- Leila Faldin: How is it going to be different than the last administration?
--:-- A Martinez: Well, Schultz's center-left Social Democrats will likely remain in the government, but it's a center-right Christian Democrats under Friedrich Merz that will be in the driver's seat now.
--:-- Rob Schmitz: And Merz seems ready to move fast.
--:-- Leila Faldin: He wants a government formed by mid-April, which is very quick for Germany, and he says he has big plans.
--:-- A Martinez: He said last night that his number one priority is to strengthen Europe as quickly as possible so that it can achieve independence from the United States.
--:-- Rob Schmitz: He went on to say, I never thought I'd be saying this, but after Donald Trump's statements last week, it's clear the Americans, or at least this administration, is indifferent to the fate of Europe.
--:-- Leila Faldin: I want to point out here that Germany has long considered the U.S. as its most important ally.
--:-- A Martinez: So this is truly an astonishing statement from an incoming German chancellor.
--:-- Rob Schmitz: Yeah. And one thing we should say here is that the far-right alternative for Germany party came in a strong second place.
--:-- Leila Faldin: They will not, though, be in government.
--:-- A Martinez: Why not, Rob?
--:-- Rob Schmitz: No, you know, Germany's parties in the political center have vowed never to govern with AFD, the party's acronym in German.
--:-- Leila Faldin: The AFD is under domestic surveillance for the threat it poses to Germany's democracy.
--:-- A Martinez: And its members routinely trivialized German atrocities in World War II.
--:-- Rob Schmitz: Last night, Meritz derided the AFD, saying it was not interested in real solutions and that the AFD is happy to see Germany's problems get worse.
--:-- Leila Faldin: He also criticized the AFD for its cozy relationship with Elon Musk.
--:-- A Martinez: Oh, and how did the AFD respond?
--:-- Rob Schmitz: Well, the party's co-chair Alice Weidel said Meritz's incoming government will not last long.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Here's what she said.
--:-- Alice Weidel: So she's saying here Meritz won't be able to form a stable government without the AFD and that he will face the consequences when his government crashes and fails.
--:-- A Martinez: But will Meritz have a stable government?
--:-- Rob Schmitz: So I posed that question to the U.S. German Marshal Fund's Suda David Will.
--:-- Suda David Will: And now it's going to be difficult for this sort of grand coalition, but it needs to deliver reform.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Otherwise, the AFD may be even stronger during the next German election.
--:-- A Martinez: And even now it cannot be ignored because it will be the largest party in the opposition.
--:-- Suda David Will: So she said what this means is that Merz's incoming government will need to move toward the right to address voter concerns like migration and a slowing German economy.
--:-- Leila Faldin: And it's clear Germans really care about these things because voter turnout was 84 percent.
--:-- A Martinez: That is the highest turnout since Germany's reunification in 1990.
--:-- Rob Schmitz: That's NPR's Rob Schmitz. Rob, thanks.
--:-- A Martinez: Thank you.
--:-- Leila Faldin: The environmental group Greenpeace USA faces a $300 million lawsuit that could force it to shut down.
--:-- A Martinez: This is related to Native American-led protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline about eight years ago.
--:-- Leila Faldin: The company that built the crude oil pipeline is suing Greenpeace.
--:-- A Martinez: Jury selection begins this morning in North Dakota.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Jeff Brady joins us now from NPR's Climate Desk.
--:-- Jeff Brady: So, Jeff, why is the pipeline company suing Greenpeace?
--:-- Leila Faldin: Yeah, the company is Energy Transfer. It's based in Dallas, and it claims Greenpeace and other activists conspired to raise money, insight protests, hurt the company's reputation, and delay construction of its Dakota Access Pipeline.
--:-- A Martinez: Energy Transfer didn't respond to our interview request, but co-founder and now executive chairman Kelsey Warren did answer questions on CNBC back in 2017.
--:-- Jeff Brady: Everybody's afraid of these environmental groups and the fear that it may look wrong if you fight back with these people.
--:-- Leila Faldin: But what they did to us is wrong, and they're going to pay for it.
--:-- A Martinez: This was when Energy Transfer filed a federal lawsuit.
--:-- Jeff Brady: That case was dismissed, and the company filed a similar case in state court.
--:-- Leila Faldin: That's the case headed to trial now.
--:-- A Martinez: So how did the protests wind up affecting the pipeline construction?
--:-- Jeff Brady: There were thousands of protesters who traveled to North Dakota and camped out near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
--:-- Leila Faldin: The pipeline route is just north of there.
--:-- A Martinez: There were clashes with police.
--:-- Jeff Brady: At one point officers used water cannons on protesters and below freezing temperatures.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Still, the 1,100-mile pipeline was finished, and it's been transporting oil since 2017.
--:-- A Martinez: Construction was delayed, Kelsey Warren estimated, about 90 days in that interview.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Okay, so what is Greenpeace saying about this case?
--:-- A Martinez: And actually, I mean, how does it plan to defend itself?
--:-- Jeff Brady: Greenpeace calls this a SLAP suit, and SLAP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Essentially, a wealthy company takes a less wealthy critic to court, forcing them to spend time and money defending themselves rather than protesting.
--:-- A Martinez: Sushma Raman is the interim executive director at Greenpeace USA.
--:-- Sushma Raman: This case is simple. Big oil wants to silence its critics.
--:-- Leila Faldin: We will not be silenced. We are fighting back.
--:-- A Martinez: Greenpeace says the goal here is to win and dissuade other companies from filing cases like this.
--:-- Jeff Brady: Yeah, these slap suits have been an issue across the country.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Some states have even passed laws to counter them.
--:-- A Martinez: So what's the situation in North Dakota?
--:-- Jeff Brady: Yeah, 35 states and the District of Columbia have anti-slap laws now.
--:-- Leila Faldin: That makes it easier to get cases dismissed and recover attorney fees from plaintiffs.
--:-- A Martinez: But North Dakota is one of 15 states that does not have such a law.
--:-- Jeff Brady: That means even if Greenpeace wins this case, it'll have to pay for its own defense.
--:-- Leila Faldin: The organization hasn't disclosed how much that'll be.
--:-- A Martinez: But a spokesperson says what they've spent so far is in the millions.
--:-- Jeff Brady: OK, so jury selection begins today.
--:-- Leila Faldin: How long might this trial last?
--:-- A Martinez: It's expected to last about five weeks, should go to the jury at the end of March or beginning of April.
--:-- Jeff Brady: We haven't seen any hint of settlement talks yet.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Both sides seem pretty dug in on their positions here.
--:-- A Martinez: So once there's a decision, I suspect an appeal is pretty likely.
--:-- Jeff Brady: All right. That's Jeff Brady from NPR's Climate Desk.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Jeff, thank you very much.
--:-- A Martinez: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Leila Faldin: And that's up first for Monday, February 24th.
--:-- A Martinez: I'm E. Martinez.
--:-- Leila Faldin: And I'm Leila Faldin.
--:-- A Martinez: Make your next listen, consider this.
--:-- Leila Faldin: The team behind NPR's All Things Considered goes deep into a single news story in just 15 minutes.
--:-- A Martinez: Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Today's Up First was edited by Ryland Barton, Kevin Drew, Neela Banerjee, Jenea Williams, and Alice Wolfley.
--:-- A Martinez: It was produced by Ziad Butch, Nea Dumas, and Christopher Thomas.
--:-- Leila Faldin: We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent, and our technical director is Stacey Abbott.
--:-- A Martinez: Join us again tomorrow.
--:-- Leila Faldin: This message comes from NetSuite. What does the future hold for business?
--:-- A Martinez: Can someone invent a crystal ball?
--:-- Leila Faldin: Until then, over 42,000 businesses have future-proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one AI cloud ERP, bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR into one platform.
--:-- A Martinez: With real-time insights and forecasting, you're able to peer into the future and seize new opportunities.
--:-- Leila Faldin: Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at netsuite.com slash story.
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