NPR News Now - NPR News: 02-22-2025 9AM EST

Episode Date: February 22, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. Hamas has now released all six Israeli hostages to be freed in exchange for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails, the largest number of Palestinian prisoners to be released at once since the ceasefire started. NPR's Hadil al-Shalchi has this account of the release of three of the six earlier today. At a second ceremony at the Nusayrat refugee camp in central Gaza, the three Israeli hostages were brought onto a stage flanked by masked Hamas gunmen. Shouting pro-Hamas militia chants, the crowd watched as 27-year-old Elia Cohen, 22-year-old

Omer Shemtov, and 23-year-old Omer Venkart stood waving and giving thumbs up. Earlier in the day, two other hostages were released in a ceremony in the southern city of Rafah. A sixth hostage, a Bedouin Arab citizen of Israel called Hisham al-Sayyid, was released later in the day. He had been in captivity for almost 10 years when he crossed into Gaza himself. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

The four-star Air Force general who became the second black officer to head the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff is out. President Trump last night announced he was appointing three-star Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Cain to replace Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Q. Brown. NPR's Tom Bowman has details on the shakeup. Brown is an accomplished F-16 pilot, held numerous commands, and it was Trump who during his first term nominated him to become Air Force chief. And what's ironic is that Trump would often boast that he was the one who destroyed the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria during his first term.

It was actually C.Q. Brown who came up with a strategy to make that happen. NPR's Tom Bowman, Trump is also replacing Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franketti. She was the second woman ever to be promoted to four-star admiral. A judge has blocked President Trump's executive order seeking to remove DEI programs from the federal government, ruling that some of the proposed actions violate the Constitution. NPR's Iana Archie has more. Shortly after taking office, the president signed an executive order that shuttered diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the federal government and placed those employees on paid

leave. A federal judge in Baltimore found that some of the stipulations in the executive order breached the right to free speech. The judge also said that the Trump administration is temporarily barred from changing or ending government contracts that have equity goals. The motion was granted after being filed by the mayor of Baltimore and organizations representing the education and restaurant sectors. Ayanna Archie, NPR News.

PepsiCo CEO Ramon LaGuarda has notified employees the company's rolling back some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. In Atlanta, meanwhile, Coca-Cola told its shareholders it's reaffirming support for diversity efforts. This is NPR News in Washington. Reports on consumer sentiment and home sales came in weaker than expected yesterday, leading Wall Street to its worst day in two months to now close down 748 points. The tomb of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who reigned anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 years ago has been unearthed.

And as NPR's Aya Batraoui reports, it's being hailed as one of the most important archaeological discoveries in recent years. Egypt's Antiquities Council says the discovery of King Thutmose II's tomb is the first to be unearthed since that of King Tutankhamun's in 1922, over a century ago. It's believed to be the last lost tomb of the kings of the 18th dynasty in Egypt. While the tomb's main passage was discovered two and a half years ago, recent excavation work revealed parts of alabaster vessels inside with inscriptions bearing the king's name along with that of his main royal wife, Queen Hatshepsut. King Thutmose II's tomb was found about a mile and a half from the famed Valley of the Kings in Luxor and moved to its unusual location by the ancient Egyptians after floods. The team of Egyptian and British archaeologists say fragments of the burial chamber's plaster show blue inscriptions and yellow sky stars,

as well as excerpts from religious scripture specific to the tombs of pharaohs. Ayyab al-Trawi, Ampere News. President Trump says he may put the U.S. Postal Service under the control of the Commerce Department. The action would amount to an executive branch takeover of the $78 billion-a-year independent agency. The president made the comments during a swearing-in of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick yesterday. He said it would be a way to stop losses at the agency. I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.