NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-15-2025 3AM EST

Episode Date: February 15, 2025

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On the Thru Line podcast, the myth linking autism and vaccines was decades in the making and was a major moment for vaccine hesitancy in America, tapping into fears involving the pharmaceutical industry and the federal government. No matter how many studies you do showing that this is not a problem, it's very hard to unring the bell. Listen to Thru Line from NPR, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Dale Willman. Vice President J.D. Vance is in Munich, Germany, this weekend for an annual security summit where he gave an address on Friday.

NPR's Rob Schmitz says European leaders expecting Vance to talk about Trump administration policies toward the continent were disappointed. Yeah, it was what Vance did not say that was at first surprising. He didn't mention Ukraine at all, really, just in passing at the start of the speech. And after a week when President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had a lot to say about negotiating with Russia

to put an end to the war, European leaders were sort of expecting Vance to add some clarity to this. But instead, Vance lectured European leaders about democracy. That's NPR's Rob Schmitz. The Trump administration is continuing its efforts to drastically cut jobs in the federal government. 2,000 workers from the Department of Energy were fired this week.

Among them was Corrie Crizon Mata. Mata says the cuts seemed arbitrary. My supervisors had to justify keeping me in 200 characters or less. I'm not sure if I can even write a full sentence as a lawyer with only 200 characters or less. And to have someone's livelihood hang on that is just, it's really unsettling. Mata also says the cuts will affect the performance of the departments targeted in this round of dismissals.

The Treasury Department's inspector general began an audit Friday of The security controls for the federal government's payment system, that move comes as Democrats have been raising red flags about the access given to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. The audit will also investigate claims by Musk of what he called alleged fraudulent payments. The families of Venezuelan migrants being sent to a detention facility in Guantanamo, Cuba, are speaking out now. NPR's Adrienne Florido spoke with the mother of one of those men. Last year, Joan Bastilas arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border and requested asylum. His mother, Peggy Paz, shares the story from her home in Venezuela. He was sent to a detention center in Texas and, for months, called her often.

Several weeks ago he stopped. On February 4th, a friend of his at the detention center called to tell the family Joanne had been sent to Guantanamo. Soon after, the Trump administration posted photos of the first Venezuelan men arriving there in shackles. He said, that's him, Paz says. He's even lost some of his hair. The Trump administration said the men were Venezuelan gang members.

Paz insists her son is not in a gang, but a hardworking young man. The ACLU has sued to gain access to the Gitmo detainees. Adrian Florido, NPR News. UN officials say a drone hit the protective outer shell of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine on Friday. They say the strike punched a hole in the shell and started a small fire, but it did not breach the more critical inner protective shell. And they say radiation levels at the plant have not increased.

Chernobyl was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986. You're listening to NPR News. The investigation into the crash of a Black Hawk military helicopter in a commercial jet in Washington, D.C. last month continues. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy says they're still working to understand the altitude of the helicopter at the time of the crash. We are seeing conflicting information in the data which is why we aren't releasing altitude for the Blackhawks entire route.

Hamadi says the crew may also not have heard key instructions from the traffic controllers just before the crash telling them to move behind the plane. More than 1 million Eagles fans flooded the streets of Philadelphia on Friday to celebrate last Sunday's Super Bowl win over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. As Peter Crimmins of Member Station WHYY reports, the fans lined the team's parade route to cheer them on. Philadelphia is known as the city of brotherly love. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said eagles love spreads far beyond Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Eagles are now America's team. Some took advantage of the fact that the parade took place on Valentine's Day

to make marriage proposals while wearing their jerseys. Adam Gallagher was one of them. He surprised his girlfriend, Lainey Kolizarek, with a ring. That's just like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Eagles parade, Valentine's Day, I'm just shaking, I'm in shock. It was just two years ago that the Eagles lost the Super Bowl to Kansas City. Many fans said that made this celebration even sweeter. For NPR News, I'm Peter Krimins in Philadelphia.

And I'm Dale Willman, NPR News in New York City.