NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-15-2025 4AM 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. Hamas released three Israeli hostages less than an hour ago. They'd been held hostage since the start of the war in Gaza in October

of 2023. In exchange, Israel is expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, some of whom were serving life sentences in Israeli prisons. President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk say they want to cut anything that they believe represents excessive government spending, and one of their next targets is the Defense Department. MPH's Tom Bowman says the Pentagon is standing by for news of any potential cuts.

There's uncertainty at the Pentagon and some fear because there's no sense of either the personnel or budget cuts coming in. Of course, what if you're a senior officer carrying out the Biden policies involving DEI? Does that mean you get replaced? Already the Trump administration fired the top officer at the Coast Guard, Admiral Linda Fagan, citing leadership failures, but also what they say was excessive focus on DEI. Sweeping federal layoffs within the U.S. government, meanwhile, are prompting demonstrations in

cities across the nation. Mai An Silva from Member Station WUWM reports on a protest in downtown Milwaukee on Friday. People chanted shame on Trump and wielded signs that said, we support federal workers as they bundled up in big coats, scarves and mittens braving the frigid Wisconsin weather. Among those who gathered was Renee Medved. She works for the Milwaukee branch of the National Labor Relations Board. I do not work for Elon Musk. I work for American people. Through tears, she said, it's been a tough few weeks contending with confusing messaging, including the Trump administration's

fork in the road memo and hearing claims that federal workers aren't productive. She said she will continue doing her job, defending workers' rights. For NPR News, I'm Ayaan Silver in Milwaukee. Taiwan says it's planning to invest more in the U.S. and work to develop semiconductor supply chains. Those moves come after a Taiwanese delegation wrapped up a trip to Washington, D.C. this week. NPR's Emily Fang reports that it's an effort to head off a 100 percent tariff that President

Trump has threatened on Taiwanese semiconductor chips. Trump said of the Democratic island of Taiwan that they, quote, stole our chip business, something Taiwan has denied. But Taiwan's tried to head off any potential tariffs and is also exploring purchasing more U.S. liquefied natural gas. Taiwan developed cutting-edge chipmaking technologies in the 1980s. Now, companies in the U.S. use Taiwanese chipmakers to manufacture custom semiconductors, including those that undergird the latest generative artificial intelligence computers.

Taiwan's biggest chip maker, TSMC, said the tariff would not affect it too badly, however. And because Europe and the US cannot make some of the semiconductor chips that Taiwan produces, they would bear the brunt of the cost of tariffs. Emily Fang, NPR News. And this is NPR News from New York. Five people have been charged in upstate New York with murder and the killing of a missing man originally from Minnesota. State police say 24-year-old Sam Nordquist, who was a transgender man, died after repeated

acts of violence and torture for more than a month. His body was later discarded in an empty field. One police official said the facts of the case were beyond depraved. The investigation remains open. Officials in Texas say that state's power grid will need some major updates within the next several years. Mo's Bushel, Member Station KUT, reports. The assessment from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas looks at possible future grid conditions. It includes one scenario where massive growth in energy demand overwhelms available supply as early as next year.

Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at UT Austin, is skeptical of that forecast, but he says keeping up with energy demand is an ongoing challenge spurred by population growth, the oil and gas sector and new data centers. And that's going to put pressure and competition for the resources, the power plants, the substations, switch gears, all those things that the rest of the country is also wanting. Texas is the only state in the lower 48 that operates its own independent power grid. I'm Mo's Bouchel in Austin.

A consumer group in France says many cut flowers sold around the world on Valentine's Day likely contain pesticides, including those now banned in Europe. The group founds between 7 and 46 different pesticide residues in the flowers they sampled. Some of those pesticides could cause cancer or be endocrine disruptors. I'm Dale Wilman, NPR News in New York City.