NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-16-2025 12AM EST

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. of memory. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Israel and Hamas completed the sixth exchange of hostages and prisoners Saturday morning local time. Hamas released three men who had been held hostage for more than 15 months. NPR producer Anas Baba was in the Gaza city of Kanyunas when they were freed. They were holding and carrying three gifts from Hamas here.

The first one was a Palestinian map. The second was a certificate of their own release. And the third thing which was a sand clock that says that time is ticking here. NPR producer Anas Baba reporting from Khan Yunis, later in the day Israel released 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. 36 of them were serving life sentences for attacks that killed Israelis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling on the European Union to establish a united European army to defend the continent against Russia.

And Piers Robb-Schmidtz reports from Munich. Speaking to European leaders at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky said he had met with Vice President JD Vant on the sidelines of the conference, but emphasized it was just the start of a dialogue about ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Zelensky said while Russia may be preparing for dialogue too, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want peace. Zelensky said the time has come for an armed forces of Europe to be created. He said Ukraine has intelligence that Putin wants to move Russian soldiers to Belarus this summer and warned it could be the start of an eventual attack on bordering EU member states.

Rob Schmitz and Pierre News, Munich. A 23-year-old man stabbed six people in southern Austria tonight in what police say was a random attack. A 14-year-old was killed and five others injured. The suspect is a Syrian national with legal residence in Austria. He's now in police custody, but police spokesperson said the man's motive is not known.

Amazon has prevailed in the latest union election at a warehouse in North Carolina. Workers in Garner, which is just outside Raleigh, voted against unionizing, as NPR's Alina Seljuk reports. The vote came down nearly three-to-one against unionizing. The labor's Alina Seljuk reports. The vote came down nearly three to one against unionizing. The labor push was led by a union called CAUSE, which stands for Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment.

It's a grassroots union run by former and current workers. And it faced a staunch opposition campaign by Amazon, which has now fought off numerous attempts to unionize its warehouses. And note that Amazon is among NPR's recent financial supporters. The company has seen two union efforts succeed. A massive warehouse in Staten Island, New York, joined a union almost three years ago. And a Whole Foods store in Philadelphia voted to unionize last month. Amazon has legally challenged those results and does not recognize the unions.

Alina Seluk, NPR News. Thousands of residents of eastern Congo's second largest city are trying to escape the expected advance of Rwandan-backed rebels this weekend. M23 rebels entered the outskirts of Bukavu and Fradi and residents expect them to soon move their way into the city. You're listening to NPR News. The woman who accused Sean Diddy Combs and Jay-Z of raping her when she was 13 years old has dropped her lawsuit against the two rappers. The woman had alleged that the assault took place at an MTV Video Music Awards after party

in the year 2000. NPR's Julianna Kim has more. Court records show that a notice of voluntary dismissal was submitted on Friday. It's unclear why the anonymous woman withdrew her complaint. Her attorneys declined to comment. The suit was initially filed four months ago. It claimed that Sean Diddy Combs and Jay-Z took turns raping the woman during an after party in 2000.

Both Jay-Z and Combs have vehemently denied the claims. In a statement to NPR, Jay-Z called the dismissal a victory and said the suit had inflicted trauma on him, his wife, and children. Combs is currently facing several lawsuits alleging physical assaults, rape, and other misconduct. He's also facing federal sex trafficking charges. His trial is scheduled to begin in May. Juliana Kim, NPR News. President Trump toured a Boeing airplane on Saturday to highlight the aircraft maker's delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft. Boeing has pushed delivery of the planes from 2024 to 2027 and 2028. Trump has frequently complained about the project's

cost and its delays. Doctors have told Pope Francis he must rest as he tries to recover from a respiratory tract infection. The Vatican says the pope will not deliver his traditional Sunday noon blessing. Pope Francis was admitted to a hospital in Rome on Friday after a week-long bout of bronchitis. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.