NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-26-2025 10AM EST

Episode Date: January 26, 2025

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Matt Wilson spent years doing rounds at children's hospitals in New York City. I had a clip-on tie. I wore Heelys, size 11. Matt was a medical clown. The whole of a medical clown is to reintroduce the sense of play and joy and hope and light into a space that doesn't normally inhabit. Ideas about navigating uncertainty. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. President Trump told reporters on Air Force One this weekend that he wants Jordan and Egypt to take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. His comments have raised concern about Palestinian displacement, and as NPR's

Ayah Batraoui reports, Jordan,, Egypt and other Arab states have long opposed that. Trump called the Gaza Strip a real mess and a demolition site, adding that resettling people outside Gaza could be temporary or long-term. His comments come as internally displaced Palestinians await Israeli approvals to return to Gaza City and other areas they were forced to flee from during the war. In response to Trump's comments, senior Hamas figure Bessam Naim said Palestinians endured war with Israel in order to stay on their land and will not accept any proposals even, he said, if seemingly well-intentioned under the guise of reconstruction.

He called for the blockade on Gaza to be lifted so residents can rebuild. Israeli airstrikes on Gaza and against Hamas destroyed most buildings and homes, with entire families still buried under the rubble. A. Abel Trawi, Ampere News. President Trump's remarks come as Israel blocks Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza in a dispute over an Israeli civilian that Israel says should have been released in yesterday's hostages-for-prisoners swap. Israeli troops also remain on the ground in southern Lebanon after today's deadline passed

for their withdrawal under a separate ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. Israel says its forces fired warning shots at suspects, but Lebanon's health ministry says 15 people were killed and dozens of others wounded as they tried to return to their homes. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham says he does not agree with President Trump's decision to pardon violent January 6 defendants. I don't like this. I don't like it on either side. And I think the public doesn't like it either.

So if this continues, if this is the norm, it may be an effort to rein in the pardon power of the president as an institution. Graham, speaking there on CNN's State of the Union, he was also critical of former President Joe Biden's pardon of several family members just before he left office and said there could be an effort to rein in presidential powers. Prosecutors have formally indicted and impeached South Korean President Yoon Seok-ryul on charges of insurrection. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul on the first time a South Korean president has been indicted while still in office.

Yoon was due to be released from detention on Monday. Prosecutors wanted more time to question him, but a court refused their request to extend his arrest warrant, so prosecutors had to move up the indictment. Ewan was previously a prosecutor general himself. He has refused to answer most questions. He insists that although he declared martial law on December 3rd, he never intended to enforce it. He also argues that the anti-corruption investigators who arrested him have no authority over insurrection cases.

Yoon will now remain in detention for up to six months as his case proceeds to trial. Anthony Kuhn to NPR News. Voters in Belarus are going to the polls today. President Alexander Lukashenko is certain to win a seventh five-year term. The US and the European Union, though, say the election is neither free nor fair because all leading opposition figures have been jailed or forced to flee abroad. The 2020 election triggered months of protests. Tens of thousands were arrested. Dutch authorities are

seeking the public's help in finding the individuals who broke into a museum using explosives Saturday and stole priceless artifacts. Terry Schultz reports the Netherlands is also asking Interpol to help in the search. Dutch police have released video from a surveillance camera showing three men breaking open the door of a museum in Aasen in the northeastern part of the Netherlands early Saturday morning and then setting off an explosion. The three men seen on the video stole at least four gold artifacts, including a helmet dating from 500 BC within three minutes. The items were part of an exhibition of pre-Roman gold and silver pieces on loan from the National History Museum of Romania. A delegation from Bucharest will arrive in Austin Sunday to try to ascertain if anything

else was stolen in the heist. Experts speaking in Dutch media expressed concern the items might be melted down by the robbers as they would be too recognizable to sell. For NPR News, I'm Terri Schulz. Yannick Center has retained his Australian Open title. He beat Alexandros Varev in straight sets in today's men's final at Melbourne Park. Center is 23 years old. He's now the first Italian player to win three Grand Slam tennis tournaments.

I'm Jaiil Snyder. This is NPR News from Washington. The indicator for Plano Money is diving into the world of batteries. I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News from Washington.