NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-01-2025 6AM EST

Episode Date: February 1, 2025

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President Trump is back in Washington, pursuing major policy changes on his own terms. We know from the past that means challenging precedent, busting norms, and pushing against the status quo. NPR is covering it all with Trump's Terms, a podcast where we curate stories about the 47th president with a focus on how he is upending the way Washington works. Listen to Trump's Term terms from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. 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 are being released. NPR's Kat Lonsdorf is in Tel Aviv. Family and friends of 65-year-old Keith Siegel gathered to watch his release live-streamed on TV. NPR's Daniel Estrin was with them. Cheering erupted when Siegel first appeared on screen. He was paraded on stage by Masq Hamas gunman 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 Bivas 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 Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Israel and Hamas are to begin negotiating the second phase of the ceasefire deal next

week. It calls for the release of the remaining hostages and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. A medical transport plane carrying six Mexican nationals crashed in Philadelphia last night, unleashing an explosion and engulfing several homes and cars in flames. From member station WHYY, Kenny Cooper reports on the fiery aftermath of the crash. Videos posted to social media showed the small jet plummeting from the sky and exploding in a heavily populated area in northeast

Philadelphia. Emergency personnel rushed to the scene to battle the ensuing fire. Varim Asipov is originally from Ukraine, but currently lives in the Philly area. He saw the mushroom explosion himself. I thought it was the end of the world like the skylight tops so So big Philadelphia Mayor Sheryl Parker says the plane crashed into a neighborhood impacting several homes and vehicles For NPR news. I'm Kenny Cooper in Philadelphia The crash in Philadelphia came two days after a Blackhawk

Helicopter collided with a commercial jetliner over the Potomac River in Washington DC. Investigators say the cockpit voice recorder from the Blackhawk has been recovered. The National Transportation Safety Board's Todd Inman says it's being analyzed along with the two flight recorders recovered from the jet. It is safely at the NTSB headquarters. It will begin an evaluation just as the other two recorders did last night to determine when and how to take action. Authorities say the remains of 41 of the 67 people who died in Wednesday night's collision have been recovered and that police boats are still searching the Potomac. This is NPR. The Education Department has announced that it will return to enforcing Title 11 protections on the basis of biological sex in schools and on campuses. NPR's Alyson Adwerty reports. In a letter to schools, the Trump administration says it is

reverting back to previous rules enacted in 2020 under Trump's first presidency, essentially getting rid of discrimination protection based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Protections expanded under the Biden administration in 2024. Biden's rules faced a number of lawsuits, and earlier this year, a federal judge in Kentucky struck down Biden's regulations, saying that the administration had exceeded its authority and that the administration had exceeded its authority and that the rules violated the Constitution and therefore were not enforceable in schools, colleges, and universities.

Alyson Adwerney, NPR News. Six Americans detained in Venezuela have been freed by the government of President Nicolas Maduro. The six were released after talks in Caracas between Maduro and Trump administration envoy Richard Grinnell, who posted a photo on social media showing him and the detainees with the freed Americans getting off a plane. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is to begin his first trip abroad as the nation's top diplomat. He's due to leave for a swing through Latin America today. What stops in Panama, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic,

El Salvador and Guatemala. He is expected to focus on immigration and deportations and to hold discussions on the status of the Panama Canal. President Trump has repeatedly called for more U.S. control over the canal, alleging Chinese influence.