NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-01-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: February 1, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. The director of the country's consumer financial watchdog has been fired by President Trump. As NPR's Laura Lomsley reports, Rohit Chopra lasted longer in the role than many had expected. Rohit Chopra had led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since 2021 after being nominated by President Biden. The role is a five-year term, but the president can fire the director at will. The Consumer Bankers Association, which represents retail banks, had been calling for Chopra's removal,

complaining of overregulation. Chopra said in a statement that the Watchdog Agency's work is especially critical now, quote, with so much power concentrated in the hands of a few. After news of his ouster, consumer groups praised Chopra's many wins on behalf of consumers, including limiting overdraft fees, capping credit card late fees, in the hands of a few. After news of his ouster, consumer groups praised Chopra's many wins on behalf of consumers, including limiting overdraft fees, capping credit card late fees,

and banning medical debt from appearing on credit reports. Trump has not yet named his choice to lead the Bureau. Laurel Wamsley and PR News Washington. At least seven people are dead after a medical transport plane crashed in Philadelphia last night near a busy outdoor mall. The plane was carrying a pediatric patient, her mother, and four other people, all Mexican nationals on their way back home. Philadelphia Mayor Sherrell Parker. At least one other person perished in this tragedy and this individual was in a car. We can confirm that there are also a number of other victims who

were injured in this incident and they are being treated in area hospitals. Officials say the Learjet went down a minute after takeoff and the crash set homes and vehicles on fire. The plane was traveling to Springfield, Missouri before heading on to Mexico. AccuWeather says there was light rain and fog at the time of the crash. The cause is under investigation. A U.S. dual citizen is among the three Israeli hostages released by Hamas today after more than 15 months in captivity in Gaza. In exchange, more than 180 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were released.

MPR's Kat Lonsdorf has more from Tel Aviv. Family and friends of 65-year-old Keith Siegel gathered to watch his release livestreamed on TV. MPR's Daniel Estrin was with them. Cheering erupted when Siegel first appeared on screen. He was paraded on stage by Mask masked Hamas gunmen in Gaza City before being handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross and finally to Israeli forces. In a separate handover, 35-year-old Yohden Bevis and 54-year-old Ofer Kaldaron were also released and brought back to Israel. Kaldaron is a dual French national. This is the fourth hostage release

as part of a six-week ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Seventy-nine hostages remain in Gaza. Many are believed to be dead. Kat Lansdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. And you're listening to NPR News from Washington. The U.S. Copyright Office issued guidelines this week clarifying its stance on the copyright ability of artworks produced using genitive artificial intelligence.

And Pierce Chloe Velbin reports creative works still have to show a degree of human agency to be registered. The question is, how much? For example, how much can an artist rely on issuing prompts to AI systems to produce, say, a song, poem or screenplay? Emily Chapuis is the Deputy General Counsel of the United States Copyright Office. Where prompts are the only human contribution, that's not enough for a copyrightable output. Chapuis says the new report is the result of many conversations with artists, tech companies

and others since the Copyright Office released its initial AI guidelines in March of 2023. She adds her office makes determinations about copyright on a case-by-case basis and that grey areas, especially when it comes to cases involving AI, are common. Chloe Valtman, NPR News. Some of the leading films that won prizes at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Awards today won't be seen by the public just yet. That's because many of them haven't found distributors so far. And that includes Atropia, a satirical comedy about a military war game training village in California, entirely populated by actors, that took the top jury prize in the U.S. dramatic

competition, and twinless about a man struggling to process the death of his identical twin, which won the Audience Award in that category. This in a sluggish sales season for Sundance, which is in its 41st edition. I'm Janene Herbst in PR News.