NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-28-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: January 28, 2025

NPR News: 01-28-2025 1PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

On NPR's Wild Card podcast, comedian Michelle Butoh says she's glad she ignored the people who told her to lose weight. I'm just going to show you what it looks like to love my body, my double chin, my extra rolls, okay? My buckets of thighs. Sauce on the side, you can't afford it. I'm Rachel Martin. Michelle Butoh is on the Wild Card podcast, the show where cards control the conversation. Lyle from NPR News. I'm Lakshmi Singh. The White House's Office of Management and Budget says it's ordering a halt to federal grants, loans, and financial assistance programs effective

5 p.m. Eastern today. A senior administration official tells NPR that the directive issued in an internal memo should not be interpreted as a full funding freeze and might last as short as a day if agencies determine their programs are in compliance with the Trump administration's priorities. Well Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says people across the US are in panic. The Trump administration announced a halt to virtually all federal funds across the country. In an instant, Donald Trump has shut off billions, perhaps trillions of dollars that directly

support states, cities, towns, schools, hospitals, small businesses, and most of all American families. Schumer and other critics argue a funding freeze is unlawful because Congress has already approved the money to be spent. Texas Governor Greg Abbott is sending hundreds of National Guard soldiers to the border to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Texas Public Radio's Gabriella Alcorta-Soloria reports. Abbott is directing the Texas Military department to coordinate with the Trump administration

on border security, a change from the Republican governor's legal battles with the Biden administration. Abbott spent the last four years testing the state's ability to enforce immigration law. Now with Trump in office, Abbott says the state will be working with the federal government. The 400 soldiers being deployed are from the Texas Tactical Border Force, established in 2023 to aid the thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers already mobilized to the border. The Pentagon announced last week that it has begun deploying more than 1,500 active duty troops to the southern border. I am Gabriela Alcorta Solorio in San Antonio. Israel and Hamas have already begun preparing to negotiate the next phase of their ceasefire

deal. That second phase would see all remaining living hostages freed and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. And Piers Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv. Under the deal, Hamas is expected to gradually release Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Hamas says it will release three Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Hamas says it will release three more hostages Thursday and three Saturday. In this first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas will release a total of 33 hostages, some no longer alive. Israeli spokesman David Menser. Twenty-five are alive and eight are dead. And Israel has shared those details with their families.

An official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations says Israel and Hamas are discussing the framework for talks next week on the next phase of the deal, including the release of all the remaining living hostages. Danielle Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is NPR News. Climate change has bolstered the number of days that temperatures are dangerously hot while also trimming the number of dangerously cold days. NPR's Alejandro Burunda reports, a new study focused on Europe suggests human-driven climate

change will soon alter the global balance of those risks. Humans are sensitive to temperature. When it gets too hot, people die, not just from heat stroke, but from all kinds of other medical problems like heart disease. Wait, wait, don't tell me. Fresh air? Up first. NPR News Now, Planet Money, TED Radio Hour, ThruLine, the NPR Politics Podcast, Code Switch, Embedded, Books We Love, Wildcard... are just some. Of the podcasts, you can enjoy sponsor free with NPR+. Get all sorts of perks across more than 20 podcasts with the Bundle option.

Learn more at plus.npr.org.