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Episode Date: January 20, 2025

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Donald Trump is starting his second term as president. What will his administration do and what policies will it promote? On the NPR Politics Podcast, we'll break down what the new administration does and explain why it matters. Listen to the NPR Politics Podcast every day. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Israel has returned to Gaza some 90 Palestinians they were holding as part of the Gaza ceasefire that's now underway. Earlier Sunday, Hamas released three hostages they've held since

the beginning of the war more than a year ago. After three Israeli women who were kidnapped from Israel in the Hamas-led attack of October 7th in 2023, were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Now these are women who range in age from 24 to 31 years old. One of them is also a British dual Israeli national. Now they were actually handed over to the ICRC in Gaza City. This is an area cut off from southern Gaza and it faced some of the most sustained Israeli bombardment in the war. That's NPR's Ayah Betraui. Humanitarian aid is now flowing into Gaza. Officials say more than 600 trucks delivering aid are on the move at this hour. Much of the enclave was destroyed by the fighting.

President Joe Biden is using his clemency power to pardon or commute the sentences of seven more people. The move adds to what is already historic roster. Empress Marlaiessen has more. With just hours left in his presidency, President Biden issued pardons for five people, most of them convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, but one of them given posthumously was for Marcus Garvey, the early 20th century civil rights leader.

Another is Don Scott, who was the first black speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. President Biden also commuted the sentences of two people serving decades long sentences. Biden said they would not have received under current law. In a statement, the president said America is a country built on the promises of second chances.

Biden has made more pardons and commutations than any other president in U.S. history. Mara Liason, NPR News. President-elect Donald Trump says he'll sign an executive order to pause the ban on TikTok. A federal law requires the sale or ban of the video app. NPR's Luke Garrett reports. TikTok went dark and then came back online this weekend following Trump's promise to

sign an executive order Monday that would pause the ban. Trump's incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz tells CNN. It is a fantastic app. It's something that 170 million Americans enjoy and we're confident that we can save TikTok but also protect Americans' data and protect them from influence. Federal law requires that TikTok be split from its Chinese-based owner, ByteDance, or be banned because of national security concerns. Despite Trump's support for the app, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas defended the TikTok ban on Sunday. Luke Garrett, NPR News, Washington.

Donald Trump says he will release classified documents related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King. He made a similar claim during his first term in office, but he never followed through on it after bowing to concerns by the intelligence community. You're listening to NPR News. The Palisades fire near Los Angeles is now more than 50% contained, but as Elise Hugh reports, crews are continuing their efforts ahead of the expected return of strong winds on Monday. Another round of extreme Santa Ana winds are expected to blow in Southern California where two of its

largest wildfires, Palisades and Eaton continue to burn. The National Weather Service has issued another rare red flag warning and says there's a potential for wind gusts up to 80 miles per hour in LA. Meteorologist Rich Thompson from the National Weather Service. Combined with the critically dry fuel out there since we haven't had any rain since last April, here that gives you the recipe for critical fire other conditions. Santa Ana winds are forecasted for the Los Angeles area through Thursday. For NPR News, I'm Elise Hue in Los Angeles. The mother of American journalist Austin Tice is in Syria. Tice was taken captive during a reporting trip in 2012.

His mother hopes the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad last month will lead to her son's release. Deborah Tice is hoping to meet with the country's new leaders to push for more information about her son. Austin Tice is now 43 years old. In a game that wasn't decided until the last two minutes, the Buffalo Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night 27 to 25. Josh Allen ran for two touchdowns while Baltimore's Mark Andrews dropped a

pass in a two-point conversion that would have tied the game with a minute 33 left in the clock. Jalen Hurts meanwhile had a 44-yard scoring run as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the turnover happy L.A. Rams 28 to 22. They move into the NFC Championship next Sunday. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. Americans are living longer than ever before. On the Sunday story from Up First, we look at a growing number of people using these

extra years to find new meaning. You get to the point where you start asking, what did you do in your life that was significant? A look at the transformative power of human passion and finding your purpose in the third act of life. Listen now on the Up First podcast from NPR.