NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-08-2025 5PM EST

Episode Date: February 8, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Hurst. A federal judge blocked Elon Musk's team, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOJ, from accessing sensitive personal data on millions of Americans kept at the Treasury Department. The order also bars political appointees or special government employees detailed to Treasury the designation given to Musk's allies. And here's Juliana Kim has more. The emergency order was issued early Saturday. It prohibited the DOJ entity from accessing

personal data kept at the Treasury Department's payment system. That includes Social Security benefits and bank account information for millions of Americans. President Trump tapped Elon Musk to find and cut wasteful government funding. The ruling is the latest development in a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by Democratic attorneys general from 19 states. They argue that Elon Musk and Doge don't have the authority to access Treasury records and are hoping to stop Musk's team for good. Juliana Kim, NPR News. Meanwhile, another federal judge has temporarily blocked

President Trump's efforts to put thousands of workers at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave. NPR's Fatma Tanis has more. Last night, a federal judge issued a temporary pause on the administration's move to put 2,200 people on administrative leave. Now those are union foreign service officers who filed the suit. The judge also reinstated 500 people who were already put on leave and he paused the accelerated

return of overseas staff that was supposed to happen this weekend. This was all pushed back until next Friday and in the meantime there will be a hearing next week on the legality of the administration's overall moves to dismantle the agency. And here's Fatma Tannis reporting. Trump accuses the agency, which manages most of the nation's foreign aid programs, of corruption and fraud without citing evidence. Many USAID employees have already lost access to their accounts. The Palestinian militant group Hamas today released three Israeli hostages, part of the ceasefire deal struck last month, and Israel released more than 180 Palestinian prisoners and

detainees in exchange. And Pierce Jerome Sokolovsky reports. Eliyahu Sharabi or Levi and Ohad Ben Ami looked thin and haggard. The men were led on to 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 mere fact that it went ahead is a signal that last month's ceasefire in Gaza is holding. Hamas has condemned 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.

Telehealth companies are selling cheaper versions of name-brand obesity drugs. But as some customers learned the hard way, sometimes a deal can be too good to be true. And here's Sydney Lupkin has more. Customers who bought obesity drugs online from a company called Zappi Health are confused after learning the pharmacy that filled their prescription didn't have the proper license to do so. The site offered compounded drugs, which aren't generics but are made by specialized pharmacies that are allowed to essentially make copies during drug shortages.

But one of the pharmacies filling prescriptions for Zappi, Usha Pharmacy, didn't have a sterile compounding license in Florida where it was based. Scott Bruner is CEO of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding. I would not take a drug that has been dispensed to that patient from a pharmacy that has been found to be in violation of its state license law. In a statement online, Zappi says it has cut ties with USHA. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. The National Weather Service says a strong storm system will bring moderate to heavy

snowfall across part of the upper Great Lakes and northeast this weekend. Lead forecaster Bob Orovic. Bob Orovic, Lead Forecaster, The One Good Thing with this storm, it is moving pretty quickly so it's not going to be a prolonged winter weather event. It looks like the snow will definitely be coming to an end earlier in the day on Sunday, in actual which the weather will be fairly tranquil for a few days. Lacey Klobuchar, Reporting, The Great Lakes Several inches of snow are expected in parts of Minnesota and the Great Lakes, and up to 10 inches is expected in parts of the northeast.

A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is forecast for the mid-Atlantic. I'm Janene Hurst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.