NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-01-2025 9AM EST

Episode Date: February 1, 2025

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It's a new year, and according to Pew, 79% of resolutions are about one thing, health. But there are so many fads around how to keep ourselves healthy. On It's Been A Minute, I'm helping you understand why some of today's biggest wellness trends are, well, trending. Like why is there protein in everything? Join me as we uncover what's healthy and what's not on the It's Been A Minute podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder.

Congressional Democrats are warning a purge of FBI agents and prosecutors who worked on cases involving President Trump and the Capitol riot will make the nation less safe. NPR's Kerry Johnson reports dozens of prosecutors have already been fired and more dismissals could come soon. Senator Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois,

said the personnel moves are a brazen assault on the rule of law. The interim U.S. attorney in Washington, who once advocated bogus theories about election fraud, fired more than two dozen prosecutors who worked on Capitol riot cases. Those lawyers had been on probationary status, so they lack full civil

service protection. Senior Justice Department officials had already dismissed a bunch of other lawyers who worked with special counsel Jack Smith to build cases against Trump. Now comes word the administration's making a sweeping list of FBI personnel who worked on January 6 cases. That list is due next week and it could lead to more firings. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington. The frontrunner to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada's prime minister says Canada is going to stand up to a bully. Mark Carney spoke to the BBC after President Trump confirmed that he will move forward with his threat to impose tariffs on Canada.

We will target our tariffs against those goods and services that will most affect the United States and least affect Canada, but to be clear this will have an impact on the Canadian economy and that impact will be felt more quickly and to a greater extent in the US, but Canadians are in no mood, no mood to make any concessions here. Canada and also Mexico and China are preparing for tariffs to be imposed today. Imported goods from Canada and Mexico are expected

to be hit with a 25% tax while China's will face a 10% charge. 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 Embers 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. The sky lighted up so big. Philadelphia Mayor Sherrell Parker says the plane crashed into a neighborhood, impacting several homes and vehicles. For NPR News, I'm Kenny Cooper in Philadelphia. Philadelphia crash came two days after a Black Hawk helicopter collided with a commercial jetliner in Washington D.C. killing 67 people.

This is NPR. Israel has released more than 180 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for three Israeli hostages. The latest swap is part of the ceasefire agreement that has brought a pause in the fighting in Gaza. Negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire are expected to begin next week. This week, the World Health Organization certified the elimination of two diseases. Niger has successfully gotten rid of river blindness and in Guinea, sleeping sickness. And Piers Gabrielle Emmanuel has more. Niger is the first country in Africa to successfully do away with river blindness, a parasitic infection transmitted by black flies. The disease was eliminated through a combination

of insecticides and medications. It's very significant and very important. Daniel Adjei Bwache is with the End Fund, nonprofit that has worked on the initiative. He says the elimination won't just help those who avoid blindness. Children who were going to lead blind people not have the time to go to school. And in Guinea, sleeping sickness has been stamped out, the country's first official disease elimination. This is also a parasitic disease and in advanced stages can cause neurological problems. Gabriella Emanuel, NPR News. The strike has been averted at Costco. Hours after a midnight deadline passed, a Teamsters union said

early this morning that it has reached a tentative agreement for a new contract and will put it up to a membership vote. The Teamsters represent 18,000 Costco employees in six states. I'm Jai Elsnider. This is NPR News from Washington.