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Episode Date: March 2, 2025

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There's been a lot of attention on loneliness lately. 16% of Americans report feeling lonely all or most of the time. The former Surgeon General even declared a loneliness epidemic. On It's Been a Minute, we're launching a new series called All the Lonely People, diving deep into how loneliness shows up in our lives and how our culture shapes it. That's on the It's Been a Minute podcast on NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. Israel is stopping all humanitarian aid from getting into Gaza. The move comes after Hamas rejected a new Israeli proposal to free more hostages before holding talks

on a permanent end of the war. NPR's Daniel Estrin is in Tel Aviv. Daniel Estrin The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire is now over. The two sides were meant to negotiate a second phase with talks on a permanent end of the war. Israel has announced a new proposal to extend the ceasefire by seven weeks and for Hamas to release half of its hostages at the start and then hold talks toward a permanent end of the war. Israel says it's a proposal from U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff.

There was no immediate U.S. comment. Hamas says the newest proposal is an attempt to evade the original deal and called for immediate talks for the second stage of the ceasefire. In response to Hamas' position, Israel says it's blocking all further goods and supplies to Gaza. Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv. President Trump's Justice Department says it will appeal a federal judge's order that the head of a federal watchdog agency must remain in his job. In her ruling this weekend, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said President Trump's

attempt to fire Hampton Dellinger was unlawful. Dellinger leads the office of special counsel. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the UK stands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Well let me just say that you're very very welcome here in Downing Street and as you heard from the cheers on the street outside you have full backing across the United Kingdom. Stormer speaking with Zelensky by his side as he prepares to host today's summit of European leaders in London. In an interview with the BBC this morning, Stormer said that Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the

White House and that he believes President Trump wants a durable peace. Zelensky has received broad support from Europe following Friday's Oval Office blow-off that saw Trump accuse Zelensky of being ungrateful. The Pentagon deploying as many as 3,000 additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, part of President Trump's efforts to prevent illegal crossings. Here's NPR's Scott Newman. The Pentagon says the active-duty troops being sent are part of a striker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion. They will join others sent shortly after Trump took

office in January and some 2,500 National Guard troops already there since the Biden administration. The latest deployment comes despite a sharp drop in border crossings. Meanwhile, a U.S. official who spoke to NPR in condition of anonymity, because they are not allowed to talk about troop movements, said site inspections have wrapped up at Fort Bliss, Texas, where thousands of migrants are expected to be detained. Scott Newman, NPR News, Washington. And you're listening to NPR News. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is attempting a political comeback following his resignation

from the governor's office more than three years ago over sexual harassment accusations. He announced this weekend that he's running for mayor of New York City. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated during a national cheerleading championship in downtown Dallas following a fight in the stands. Pablo Rousepenio, the member station KERA, reports. Dallas police reported multiple injuries after crowds of people poured out of the convention center in the city's downtown. The rush happened after a fight between two people caused a loud noise in the arena.

Marcus Tucker is a parent whose daughter was competing in the championship. A huge crowd just floated around the corner and started screaming, run, run, run, run, and we started running. Despite initial concerns of a shooting, police clarified that no shots were fired. I'm Pablo Arauspeña in Dallas. The official start of Alaska's Iditarod sled dog race has been delayed until tomorrow. It's been moved from Willow to Fairbanks because of a lack of snow on the original course. And usher Gabe Dunham is not worried about the

change. Down here in Willow we've been struggling with lack of snow for the last eight weeks. And that's been a you know having a truck and travel a lot so adding one more trip to Fairbanks isn't gonna hurt us. Gautam is among this year's 33 iDIDEROT competitors who participated in this weekend's ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage. The course change to Fairbanks adds more than 100 miles to the thousand mile race.

The winner expected to arrive in the old gold rush town of Nome about 10 days after the start. This is NPR. James Baldwin was an activist and orator, a style icon, but on NPR's Book of the Day, we'll dissect the thing he was most known for, his writing. That last clause kind of reads like a horror story, right?

There's something deeply, deeply ominous about the way that that opening paragraph closes. Celebrate Black History Month with us as we examine some of his best works on NPR's Book of the Day podcast.