NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-08-2025 1PM EST

Episode Date: February 8, 2025

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Noor Rahm, NPR News. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. Early this morning, a federal judge blocked Elon Musk's government efficiency team from getting access to Treasury Department systems. The systems are used to process trillions of dollars in payments and contain the personal and financial information of millions of Americans. 19 state attorneys general had brought a lawsuit to stop the access, including Letitia James of New York.

President Trump does not have the power to give our private information away to whomever he wants. And he does not have the power to cut federal spending that Congress approved, much less to do so by giving the richest man in the world the keys to all Americans' most sensitive information. The order is in effect until February 14th, when another judge will hold a hearing on the case. The order also bars political appointees and special government employees detailed to Treasury. The National Institutes of Health says the agency is capping an important type of funding

for medical research at universities, medical schools, research hospitals, and other scientific institutions. NPR's Rob Stein has more. The NIH says the agency is limiting funding for indirect costs to 15 percent of current and future grants. That's far below what many institutions have been getting to maintain buildings and equipment and pay support staff and other overhead expenses. The NIH says the new policy is more in line with what private foundations pay. The decision, which marks a major change in how the NIH funds medical research, is being condemned by many researchers. They say the cap will cripple scientific research. The new policy goes into

effect Monday. Rob Stein, NPR News. The Palestinian militant group Hamas released three Israeli hostages today, part of a ceasefire deal struck last month. Israel released more than 180 Palestinian detainees in exchange. NPR's Jerome Sokolowski reports. Eliyahu Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami looked thin and haggard. The men were led onto a stage where they gave statements to the crowd flanked by heavily armed gunmen. Hamas took advantage of the handover to mount an elaborate ceremony as in past hostage releases. Flags and banners celebrated Palestinian nationhood and condemned Israel.

The handover was live-streamed by TV networks both in Israel and its Arab neighbors. The mere fact that it went ahead is a signal that last month's ceasefire in Gaza is holding. Hamas has reacted angrily to a proposal by President Trump to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza to make way for post-war reconstruction. Jerome Sokolowski, NPR News, Tel Aviv. This is NPR News. The Alaska state legislature is urging President Trump to reverse his decision to rename North America's tallest peak as Mount McKinley Alaska public media's Eric Stone reports Trump issued the order renaming Denali after President William McKinley on his first day back in office

Saying McKinley was a quote natural businessman who quote made our country very rich through tariffs State Senator Scott Kawasaki a Fairbanks Democrat says the name Denali has deep roots in Alaska's history and indigenous culture. Alaska's and travelers from around the world have known it to be Denali. The Athabaskan people have lived in the interior for thousands of years and for thousands of years have embraced Denali as its proper name. Alaska renamed the landmark Denali in 1975 and formally requested the federal government do the same. The Obama administration did so in 2015 over objections from the delegation in McKinley's home state of Ohio. The resolution opposing the renaming passed with bipartisan support,

including for many conservative Republicans. For NPR News, I'm Eric Stone in Juneau, Alaska. Recovery efforts are underway in western Alaska after a commuter plane crash this week. It went down on the Bering Sea Thursday afternoon on a flight to Nome. The Coast Guard spotted the wreckage yesterday. All 10 people on board were killed, nine passengers and the pilot. Senator Lisa Murkowski said this is a sad and dark time for her state. Words really can't express the loss that we're all feeling at this point in time. We're all connected.

Crews are now trying to recover the wreckage and the remains of those who died before expected high winds and snow. The cause of the crash is under investigation. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.