NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-19-2025 2PM EST

Episode Date: January 19, 2025

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Every weekday, Up First gives you the news you need to start your day. On the Sunday story from Up First, we slow down. We bring you the best reporting from NPR journalists around the world, all in one major story, 30 minutes or less. Join me every Sunday on the Up First podcast to sit down with the biggest stories from NPR. Live from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Three Israeli women held hostage by Hamas in Gaza were freed today and are now safely

back in Israel as part of a ceasefire agreement intended to end the war. NPR's Greg Myrie reports. Hamas released the three Israeli women in a chaotic scene in Gaza City. Masked Hamas gunmen drove a van carrying the women to a crowded square packed with Palestinians. The women were handed over to the Red Cross, which in turn delivered them to the Israeli military. They were then whisked back to Israel. Video footage showed the women ages 24 to 31 were all able to walk on their own, but there was no word on their overall condition. All three were seized by Hamas and the attack that ignited the war on October 7,

2023. These exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are set to carry on for weeks. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Tel Aviv. President-elect Donald Trump says he'll pause the TikTok ban that took effect last night and work on a deal for the app to be sold. As NPR's Bobby Allen reports, some Republican lawmakers say the promise exceeds his authority. Trump says he will issue an executive order Monday to provide TikTok reprieve for the ban it is under, so Trump can work out a deal to resolve the Chinese ownership issue. But some Republicans in Congress say Trump cannot delay the ban start date since the law has already started.

Trump's Truth Social Post also promised to provide legal cover to any company supporting TikTok before a deal is complete. Yet again, there is doubt about this. Legal experts say Congress, not the president, can determine the liability under the law. But as President Trump can instruct his administration not to enforce the ban for Apple, Google, Amazon, which support TikTok, that may not be enough, however. Bobby Allen, NPR News. TikTok says it's working on an agreement with its web hosting providers to fully restore service, but Apple and Google are not expected to bring TikTok back into app stores. Trump made a visit to Arlington National Cemetery this

afternoon to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Other inauguration events, including the inauguration itself, have been moved indoors because of cold weather. Trump will take the oath of office tomorrow inside the capital Rotunda instead of outside on the capital steps. The commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, Major General John Andoni, says nearly 8,000 National Guardsmen from dozens of states are providing security. I can tell you that our plan is sound, and anything that might have to be changed can be easily adjusted.

A lot of it has to do with just different locations, different security requirements for those locations, but we have the manpower available to do that work. No problem. He was interviewed on ABC. This is NPR News in Washington. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging health care workers who are treating hospitalized flu patients to test for bird flu within 24 hours of admission.

Scott Masione of member station WYPR has more. The CDC advisory underscores increasing concern over the potential for bird flu to spread. Earlier this month, the Louisiana man became the first person in the US to die of the disease. There are also multiple reports of domestic cats contracting the virus after being exposed to raw milk or contaminated pet food. The bird flu has still not mutated to the point of human-to-human transmission and therefore remains a low threat to most of the US population. However, a recent study from Scripps Research shows the virus may be getting close to that capability.

The CDC's concern over bird flu rose after a child in California contracted the disease late last year without any known contact to infected animals. For NPR News, I'm Scott Massione. Russia claims it continues to advance in eastern Ukraine, saying its forces have taken two settlements in the Donetsk region, one of several territories the Russia claims it has annexed but does not fully control. Ukrainian forces are still holding territory in Russia's Kursk region. Both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for possible peace talks with a change in administrations in the U.S.

On his last full day in office, President Biden used his clemency power to pardon or commute the sentences of seven more people. He's now issued more pardons and commentations than any other U.S. president. The pardons today included a posthumous one for Marcus Garvey, the early 20th Central Civil Rights leader. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News. For every headline, there's also another story about the people living those headlines. civil rights leader. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News.