Eric Adams; Kathy Hochul; Ukraine-Russia war : NPR

Good morning. You’re reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day.

Today’s top stories

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she may have to use her authority to remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office. The announcement comes after four of Adams’ aides, including the city’s first deputy mayor, announced yesterday that they were quitting. Their departures were triggered by the U.S. Justice Department’s decision to drop corruption charges against the mayor. Critics say the DOJ move was part of a deal to secure Adams’ help with President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

• 🎧 The four top aides leaving are a wipeout of Adams’ top leadershipand it has garnered Hochul’s attention, NPR’s Brian Mann tells Up First. Those departing dealt with the city’s infrastructure and the ongoing challenges of immigrants arriving in New York. This month the DOJ shelved Adams’ case, citing that the trial would prevent him from helping the Trump administration deal with migrants without legal status in the city. The decision resulted in at least seven top federal attorneys resigning.

More than a thousand employees received termination letters over the weekend at the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. NPR reviewed the letters staff at the CDC, NIH and FDA received. They all used similar language and cited inadequate performance as the reason for their cuts. Their termination date is effective March 14.

• 🎧 Some people were informed on Friday that they would be losing their jobs but have not received a letter yet, according to NPR’s Pien Huang. Meanwhile, some people’s jobs were saved at the last minute after their role was deemed essential. Most who lost their jobs were staff in their probationary periods. Workers have said they feel vilified and characterized as lazy by the Trump administration even though their colleagues say they work hard to serve and protect the public. These agencies also expect more cuts to come.

Today, high-stakes negotiations aimed at ending the war in Ukraine are set to begin in Saudi Arabia with U.S. and Russian officials. This comes after Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone call last week in which the two leaders agreed to work together to end the war.

• 🎧 Ukraine is not invited to the negotiationsNPR’s Charles Maynes says. Both Trump and the Kremlin say Ukraine will be involved at some point. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Kyiv won’t recognize negotiated outcomes for the country made without them. European leaders echo this sentiment as they are being sidelined in this negotiation conversation. Europe sees the war in Ukraine as fundamentally a European security issue. Maynes says the deal could involve Ukraine having to agree to give up NATO ambitions and give territory to Moscow.

Today’s listen

Paramore’s lead singer Hayley Williams is helping her 78-year-old grandfather, Rusty Williams, release his debut album, Grand Man. It was recorded 50 years ago, but when Rusty presented the recordings to big-wigs in Nashville, they told him to make them country. He refused, and the tapes were shelved, collecting dust. But Rusty never forgot about them. Listen to snippets of Rusty’s music and hear what Hayley did to help him achieve his dream.

Deep Dive

Since Trump took office, his administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have claimed that the president has the power to unilaterally override existing spending plans set by Congress. They have sought to cut federal spending, reduce workforce levels and dismantle programs and bureaucracies without going through the legislative process. These actions have not come out of nowhere. During Trump’s reelection campaign, he outlined his view that the president should have a special power to slash spending, known as “impoundment.” Are these actions constitutional? Here’s what Planet Money discovered:

• 💵 In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed the Impoundment Control Act, which limited the president’s ability to impound funds and provided pathways for the president to collaborate with Congress when seeking to do so.
• 💵 The Impoundment Control Act does not prohibit presidents from impounding. Instead, it offers them legal pathways to pause and slash spending. However, Congress is still required to participate in the process.
• 💵 The Supreme Court decided in the 1996 case Clinton v. City of New York that it is not constitutional for the president to refuse to spend specific appropriations of money as instructed by Congress, even if Congress approves.

3 things to know before you go

1. Christie’s upcoming Augmented Intelligence sale represents the first time a major auction house is focusing entirely on works created using machine learning. Many artists have mixed feelings about the event. Some are calling for the sale to be canceled.
2. Archaeologists in London have discovered an ancient Roman basilica dating back nearly 2,000 years. It was found below London’s financial district during excavations as part of the demolition of a building.
3. When David Jefferson’s wife, Jill Wolfe, was diagnosed with cancer, her friend and Jefferson’s unsung hero Nichole Kyle was persistent in helping her. From talks that uplifted Wolfe’s spirits to assistance with her most private needs, Kyle kept a steady presence, which Jefferson says he will never be able to repay.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.