More Hostages Go Free, Trump Halts Foreign Aid, RFK Jr.'s Confirmation

0:01Hamas releases four female soldiers as the ceasefire with Israel enters its second week. In exchange, Israel will hand over a total of 200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. I'm Aisha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News. A crowd gathered outside in Tel Aviv cheered when a big screen TV showed the Israeli soldiers being handed over to the Red Cross. We'll have more on that story also. So the U.S. State Department pauses most foreign aid programs. The Trump administration says it wants to undertake a thorough review. And what's ahead is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces a Senate confirmation hearing next week.

0:47So stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.

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2:14So pick up that Irish flute or those calligraphy pens or the daunting Beef Wellington recipe card and leave the laundry to Rinse. Rinse. It's time to be great. Hamas took the Israeli soldiers captive 15 months ago during its October 7th raid. The Palestinian group held them as hostages ever since, and Pierre's Greg Myrie is in Tel Aviv. Greg, thanks for being with us. Hi, Scott. What was that moment like? Yeah, Hamas presented this highly orchestrated handover. The four Israeli women, dressed in olive military uniforms and oddly wearing lanyards, were paraded onto an outdoor stage in the center of Gaza City.

2:55Now, they were surrounded at all times by Hamas fighters dressed head to toe in black, including balaclavas. They also wore their green headbands and carried automatic rifles. The women waved to the Palestinian crowd, and then they were presented to the Red Cross, which drove them a short distance to the Israeli military. The four women are now in a hospital outside Tel Aviv. As you noted, all were seized at an Israeli military base just outside of Gaza back in October of 2023 in the Hamas attack that ignited the war. This was a very different handover than what we saw last week, wasn't it? Yeah, a dramatic contrast.

3:35Last Sunday in the first exchange under the ceasefire, Hamas drove three Israeli civilian women into the middle of a very unruly crowd in a central square in Gaza. Lots of pushing and shoving, and the three women clambered into a Red Cross van. Hamas clearly wanted a more orderly exchange this time. And, Scott, I think very importantly, Hamas wanted to show it's in charge of Gaza, that its fighters are willing to appear in public at a ceremony or event like this. An Israeli military spokesman was critical of the handover, describing this public presentation of the women as a cynical charade. And how is Israel accomplishing its part of the exchange?

4:15So just a couple hours later after that, the Israelis freed 200 Palestinians. This included many convicted of serious crimes. Media reports say about 120 of those released are Palestinians serving life sentences after being convicted of killings. Also, about 70 of those being freed are not being allowed to return to Palestinian areas. Israel says they are being deported to Egypt and then on to other countries in the region. Gregor, the releases on both sides, an indication that the ceasefire is holding, it's working. Yes, Scott, it's absolutely a good sign that the ceasefire is now wrapping up its first full week and still holding.

4:58These releases are incredibly important to both Israeli and Palestinian societies as they welcome their people home. We're seeing additional developments as well. Hundreds of truckloads of aid are now flowing daily into Gaza, far exceeding anything we saw during the 15 months of fighting. We should note there are some very hard questions that are still ahead. The first phase of the ceasefire lasts six weeks. The two sides will then have to negotiate some very hard questions like when will all the Israeli troops leave Gaza and will Hamas be allowed to remain in charge of Gaza? And here's Greg Myrie in Tel Aviv.

5:40Thanks so much for being with us, Greg. Sure thing, Scott.

5:47An internal memo obtained by NPR calls for U.S. humanitarian and development programs to stop their work. And blocks virtually all new foreign assistance. The directive expands on an executive order that President Trump issued earlier in the week. And pair global health correspondent Fatma Tanis joins us now. Fatma, thanks for being with us. Thanks for having me, Scott. And please tell us about this memo. So it was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and it says that U.S. foreign assistance will be frozen while a comprehensive review of all programs can be undertaken to, quote, ensure that all foreign assistance is aligned with President Trump's foreign policy agenda.

6:27Now, the memo says the review will be completed within 85 days. And that means for nearly three months, there's going to be no new funding for any foreign assistance. And programs that have already been approved for funding will have to stop work. There are some exemptions, such as foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt, and also emergency food aid. What kind of programs are likely to be affected? It's everything from the building of roads to vaccination programs. And there are also aid efforts in sensitive conflict zones. These are often logistically complicated programs. So once you pause them, it's hard to get things running back up again immediately.

7:07And, you know, Scott, we're talking about a lot of investment, around$60 billion worth. That's how much the U.S. provides in foreign assistance annually. And it's the biggest financial supporter of development aid in the world. So this is going to have a huge impact across the board. And there's a lot that's still unclear. There are questions about how this is going to affect aid to Ukraine and Taiwan, for example. Also critical global health programs like PEPFAR. That's the U.S. effort to combat HIV around the world. And it's credited with having saved 25 million lives. What might happen to people who work for these programs?

7:43So until this review is over, these U.S.-funded programs are likely going to have to cease operations, even furlough or lay off their staff. Employees of USAID, the agency primarily responsible for administering humanitarian and development aid, will be keeping their jobs for now. But I should also note that many of the organizations that partner with the U.S. on foreign assistance are based in the U.S. and they employ people here and overseas. So this is going to impact overseas staff in the short term, but it will also lead to layoffs in the U.S. if it continues. What kind of reaction from aid groups?

8:20People are shocked and really worried. A senior official at USAID told me that, quote, the work stop order is completely reckless and disruptive and said it was draconian. The official asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the agency. I also spoke to the leader of an organization that partners with USAID. They offer humanitarian assistance. And that person told me the administration has, quote, thrown a grenade right into the middle of foreign assistance. This person also spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing retribution against their organization for speaking out.

8:56They said that they would have to pull out their staff who are providing critical services in the field and also lay off U.S. staff. The person said that, quote, we can't afford to keep funding our programs because we don't know if we will be reimbursed per our contracts with U.S. agencies. Now, aid experts are also warning that this move could have a destabilizing effect in countries where humanitarian aid is critical. I spoke to Abby Maxman. She's the president of Oxfam America. It's a charity that does not take funding from the U.S. government. And here's what she said. It's having seismic impacts for the entire global aid system.

9:32And really, frankly, it's a cruel decision that has life or death consequences for millions of people around the world. She's called on the Trump administration to reverse the move before it's too late. And Piers Fatma Tanis, thanks so much for being with us. Thank you for having me.

9:53Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the slain attorney general from the 1960s, is headed towards confirmation hearings next week. President Trump has nominated him as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Many in the medical community oppose his confirmation, though some do support it. NPR's Will Stone joins us now to talk about it. Hi, Will. Hey there. So, Will, what are the main concerns about Kennedy's confirmation? Well, his track record on vaccines is the most prominent one. For years, Kennedy led an advocacy group that it's a major player in the anti-vaccine movement. In 2021, he petitioned the government to revoke the authorizations for the COVID vaccines.

10:38Kennedy said in 2023 that no vaccine is safe and effective, and he's made other inaccurate claims about infectious diseases. Now, recently, Kennedy has softened his tone. After the election, he told NPR he's not going to take anyone's vaccines away. I asked Dr. Brett Giroir about this. He's a former assistant secretary for health in the first Trump administration. Just saying, you know, I'm not going to take your vaccines away would not be sufficient for me. If that were the answer and the only explanation, I would definitely not confirm him. His issues about vaccines and reliance on quasi or pseudoscience needs to be changed.

11:16He isn't taking a position yet, but he says senators need to ask questions because there's a lot an HHS secretary could do to undermine vaccines. Will, where is this pushback coming from? So many doctors are speaking out on social media and in op-eds in opposition. The biggest organized effort is a campaign that's gathered at least 15 ,000 signatures from physicians. That's being led by a progressive advocacy group called Committee to Protect Healthcare. Separately, the American Public Health Association has urged the Senate to reject Kennedy. But some of the most prominent physician groups, like the American Medical Association, have not weighed in publicly.

11:55I reached out to the AMA about this. They did not respond. Dr. Rob Davidson with Protect Healthcare says he's not sure why they aren't taking a stance. It's politics. It's D.C. and I guess they'll have to answer to that. I think it's wrong. I think if they truly stand for the health of our patients, they should be coming out against this and taking a stand. But RFK Jr. has vowed to address chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes and trying to make Americans healthier again. What about that? Well, that is a big part of his appeal. And many in public health say this is important. But this focus cannot be at the expense of preventing infectious diseases like measles.

12:38Dr. Jeffrey Flyer, a former dean of Harvard Medical School, says Kennedy has ascended to this point not in spite of his previous activism, but because of it. He has no other basis for being the head of HHS. Anyone could stand up and say, oh, you know, we have a lot of chronic disease. We need to look at it. The idea that he represents some new insight into the importance of that area and how we should be thinking about it is ludicrous. And I should add that Flyer is a well-known researcher in the field of obesity. OK, but but there are some supporters in the medical community. Who are they? Yeah, that's right.

13:17There's also a petition from a pro-Kennedy group called Maha Action. MAHA being short for Make America Healthy Again. And that group says it has over 4 ,000 verified signatures from physicians and scientists. You see a lot of support for Kennedy online in the wellness and influencer space, physicians who are focused on diet and lifestyle. One of them is Dr. Philip Ovedia, a Florida heart surgeon with a telemedicine practice. A lot of what RFK has talked about is looking at our food supply, looking at the ingredients in our food. That's something that he's been talking about for a long time, and it's great to see that part of it being elevated.

13:57So how likely is it that Kennedy will get confirmed? So it's hard to say. Some Republicans have expressed concern. The former Trump official, Giroir, says it looks like there may be enough support for Kennedy to be confirmed. We reached out to a Kennedy spokesperson for comment. She said Bobby Kennedy has met with over 60 United States senators. He's prepared and excited. That's NPR's Will Stone. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. And that's up first for Saturday, January 25th, 2025. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Aisha Roscoe. Today's podcast was produced by Andrew Craig with help from Fernando Naro.

14:38Michael Radcliffe directed. And this episode was edited by Jerome Sokolowski, Scott Hensley, Shannon Rhodes, Rebecca Davis and Matthew Sherman. Andy Huther is our technical director, with engineering support from Zach Coleman, David Greenberg, and author Holliday Laurent. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor. Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. And Jim Cain, I've got to get his middle name someday, is our deputy managing editor. Tomorrow on the Sunday Story, inside a notorious prison in Syria where thousands of people were detained and killed under former President Bashar al-Assad.

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