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Episode Date: February 16, 2025

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Technologist Paul Garcia is using AI to create photos of people's most precious memories. How her mother was dressed, the haircut that she remembered. We generated tens of images and then she saw two images that was like, that was it. Ideas about the future of memory. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Leaders in Europe are pushing back against comments made on Friday by US Vice President JD Vance. Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Vance lectured his colleagues about giving more political space to far-right political parties. MPR's Rob Schmitz says a German leader quickly challenged Vance.

This morning, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz began his address to the conference by calling out Vance. He said the day before Vance delivered his speech, Vance had visited the Dachau concentration camp where tens of thousands of people were killed in World War II. And Vance used the phrase never again when he spoke about the atrocities of the Holocaust. Scholz used that phrase to sort of lecture back at JD Vance, delivering a history lesson to the Vice President, pointing out that Germany has learned to say never again to political parties like Germany's far-right alternative for Germany Party, known as the AFD. That's NPR's Rob Schmitz.

In Lebanon, protests erupted after an Iranian plane carrying Lebanese Shia pilgrims was denied landing rights that led to clashes with the army and attacks on UN peacekeepers. From Beirut, NPR's Jawad Rizkallah reports. The unrest followed an Israeli claim that Beirut's airport was being used to smuggle money from Iran to Hezbollah. Lebanon then imposed new security measures, delaying flights, including those from Iran, leaving Shia pilgrims stranded and sparking protests. Demonstrators blocked roads near the airport and the military reported rioting and attacks on soldiers and UN peacekeepers. UNIFIL says its outgoing deputy force commander

was injured and is demanding accountability. Lebanon's army chief has vowed to take action, while Hezbollah is calling for a sit-in condemning what it calls Israeli interference and violation of national sovereignty. Jouad Rizkallah, NPR News, Beirut. A group of Western senators is asking President Donald Trump to exempt seasonal federal firefighters from the current federal hiring freeze. CapRadios Manola Sakaita has more. The senators describe putting a pause on hiring federal seasonal firefighters as quote

simply irresponsible and dangerous. California Senator Alex Padilla signed the letter. Time is of the essence. We cannot wait for the summer months to get here. We cannot wait for the fires to begin to begin the recruitment or the training process. Padilla says the need is also immediate as fires are occurring more frequently outside of what was once considered California's fire season, like the massive wildfires that broke out recently in the Los Angeles area.

For NPR News, I'm Enola Cicaita in Sacramento. Much of the eastern US is facing harsh, soggy weather this weekend with snow and ice storms underway in parts of the northeast. Heavy winds, meanwhile, are bringing the threat of tornadoes to the Mississippi Valley while, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Arkansas are under flood warnings and in the west Meteorologists say the northern Rockies and the Plains states are facing the tenth and coldest polar vortex to hit this season You're listening to NPR news this season. You're listening to NPR News. The parent company of President Donald Trump's social networking site Truth Media says it lost $400 million last year, and it says its annual revenue declined 12 percent to just

$3.6 million. The company blames the losses, in part, on a revenue-sharing agreement with an undisclosed advertising partner. Saturday Night Live is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend. Last night there was a concert at Radio City Music Hall ahead of tomorrow's three-hour live special which features cast alumni including Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, and Will Ferrell. NPR's Elizabeth Blair has more. The SNL celebration on Sunday begins at 7 p.m. Eastern with a red carpet special co-hosted

by former cast member Leslie Jones. Cast members from across the decades are scheduled to appear on the anniversary special, including Adam Sandler, Tracy Morgan, and Jane Curtin, who played one of the Coneheads in the 1970s. I'm Primet. I maintain our home base and enjoy preparing mass quantities of consumables for my family unit. Saturday Night Live. Regulars like Steve Martin and Paul Simon are also scheduled to appear. SNL 50, the anniversary special, airs live at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday on NBC and Peacock. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News. Johnny Broom had 19 points and 14 rebounds tonight. His number one Auburn beat number two ranked Alabama 94 to 85. It was a college basketball matchup between the two in-state

rivals. Five other Auburn players scored in double figures in the win. LeBaron Fillon and Aidan Holloway each scored 10 points for Alabama. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.