NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-08-2025 9PM EST

Episode Date: February 9, 2025

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Donald Trump is starting his second term as president. What will his administration do and what policies will it promote? On the NPR Politics Podcast, we'll break down what the new administration does and explain why it matters. Listen to the NPR Politics Podcast every day. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. 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. And Piers Robstein 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 in PR News. A federal judge has temporarily blocked Elon Musk's cost-cutting team from accessing Treasury Department records containing sensitive personal data, including Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. 19 state attorneys general sued the saying the administration allowed the Musk team access to the Treasury Department's central payment system in violation of federal law. A

hearing is set for next week. The judge also said anyone who had access to the information is to immediately destroy all copies and downloads of materials. That system handles tax refunds, Social Security and veterans benefits, sending the information is to immediately destroy all copies and downloads of materials. That system handles tax refunds, Social Security and veterans benefits, sending out trillions of dollars every year. The South African government issued a strong rebuke today after President Trump signed an executive order freezing aid to the country. Kate Bartlett has more. Kate Bartlett, KTVU News.

Trump has baselessly accused South Africa of land grabs after it passed a land reform law in January aimed at addressing the country's apartheid past. However, no land has been seized. In his executive order on Friday, Trump also said he was withdrawing funding because South Africa had taken Israel to the International Criminal Court over its actions in Gaza. Trump said the White House was making plans to allow white Afrikaner refugees to settle in the U.S. South Africa's government said it was, quote, ironic that the executive order makes provisions for refugee status in the U.S. for a group in South Africa that remains

amongst the most economically privileged. For NPR News, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. Israel freed more than 180 Palestinian prisoners and detainees today, while Hamas militants released three gaunt and frail-looking Israeli hostages. Dr. Hagar Mizrahi is with the Israeli Ministry of Health. Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, Israeli Ministry of Health We witnessed significant weight loss that represent the severe conditions which endured by Hamas. The Red Crescent says seven of the Palestinians freed today were rushed to the hospital and that one appeared to have been beaten.

The others were treated for malnourishment. Ceasefire talks on the next phase are set to begin this weekend. This is NPR. Sony says its popular PlayStation Network is working again after a 24-hour outage that left customers angry. The outage prevented many from launching games, apps, or network features on PlayStations. Sony didn't say what the cause of that outage was. Hundreds of Dallas Maverick fans protested the team's trade of Luca Doncic to the L.A. Lakers outside the American Airlines Center today. Megan Cardona from member station KERA has more. A week after the trade, Dallas Mavericks fans are still

upset the team traded their star player. Some protesters covered the team name and logo on their jerseys with tape. They gathered in front of former Mavericks legend Dirk Nowinski's statue, which is engraved with the words, loyalty never fades away. Longtime fan Wojad Rizvi wanted to refund his tickets, but says his son wants to stick by the team. After everything that's happened, he's still loyal to this team. And I guess that teaches a bitter old man like me something about loyalty. Rizvi says he's keeping his season tickets this year,

but is unsure if he'll renew for next season. I'm Megan Cardona in Dallas. A more than 300-year-old Stradivarius violin was sold at auction in New York for more than 11 million dollars. That violin is regarded as one of Antonio Stradivarius' best works. It was made in 1714 during the so-called Golden Period of violin making. It was sold by the New England Conservatory in Boston. The proceeds will fund student scholarships.

I'm Janene Herbst, NPR News in Washington. This message comes from NYU Langone. The NYU Langone Health app gives you access to your electronic health record. Keep track of your visits, lab results, and images all in one place. Better Health starts with a Better Health System.