NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-16-2025 3AM EST

Episode Date: February 16, 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, I'm Dale Willman. Hamas Saturday released three male Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the beginning

of the war, including an Israeli American. In exchange, Israel released more than 300 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. It was the sixth such swap that was part of the latest ceasefire agreement. Some of the prisoners have been serving life sentences for attacks on Israelis, but most were detained during the Gaza war. Empire producer Anas Baba was there. 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. The ceasefire though faces major challenges. The first phase ends next month and there have been no substantive negotiations over the second phase. That's when Hamas would release all remaining hostages in return for ending the war. 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. The rocky mountains are drier than normal for this time of year, and as Alex Hager of member station KUNC reports, that's raising concerns about water levels in the reservoirs that supply farms and cities across the West. The vast majority of the Colorado River starts as mountain snow. Two-thirds of that falls in Colorado, where totals have been lagging behind average for this time of year. Colorado climate center director Russ Schumacher says recent storms have

helped only slightly. The odds are tilted towards the not great outcomes in terms of water supply and drought as we look out into the spring." There's still plenty of winter left. Snowpack typically doesn't peak until April. States that use Colorado River water are caught in a standoff about how to share it and dry conditions are likely to make their talks even harder. For NPR News, I'm Alex Hager in Fort Collins, Colorado. The tenth and coldest polar vortex of the season is hitting the northern Rockies and northern plains this weekend.

Out east, meanwhile, heavy snow and ice are hitting much of New England, while much of the rest of the eastern U.S. is seeing harsh, soggy weather, and flood warnings are in place in several Midwestern states, while heavy winds are bringing the threat of tornadoes to the Mississippi Valley. You're listening to NPR News. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has moved to dismiss six of its own cases that were filed in support of workers alleging gender identity discrimination. It argues that the cases now conflict with the recent executive order by President Trump.

The agency's requests are raising questions about whether its protections will continue to extend to transgender and gender non-conforming people in the future. This weekend marks the 75th anniversary of a classic Disney film. As NPR's Neda Ulibi reports, Cinderella opened in theaters on February 15, 1950. The original animated Cinderella was such a hit when it first came out, it turned around the fortunes of Walt Disney Productions. Back then the company was in a slump after a dispiriting string of flops. Fantasia and Bambi are beloved today but neither was

a hit in the 1940s. The massive success of Cinderella enabled Disney to start its own distribution and the theme parks, a marketing bonanza for the company. These days, Disney is in the headlines for changing its policies around diversity, equity, and inclusion, and for announcing it will put ads in the ad-free tiers of its streaming services such as Disney Plus and Hulu. Neda Ulibi, NPR News. The parent company of the social media site True Social says it lost $400 million last Medha Ulipi, NPR News.