NPR News: 02-25-2026 6PM EST

This is Ira Glass. On This American Life, we look for stories that are surprising, that you won't hear anywhere else. Like, for example, this one astronaut who went to the moon. You know what he's not into? Space. Was it cool to float around weightless? No, no, no. This American Life, unexpected stories, wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Rylan Barton. Dr. Casey Means made the case for why she should be the next U.S. Surgeon General today. Means was tapped by President Trump for the job and appeared in front of a Senate committee. NPR's Will Stone has more. Casey Means is a wellness influencer, author, and entrepreneur. She graduated medical school but never finished her training to be a surgeon. Much of her messaging around diet and lifestyle aligns with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s agenda, and she was pressed throughout the hearing about her views on vaccines. Means said she believes in vaccines, but stopped short of saying she'd encourage mothers to vaccinate their kids for flu or measles. Vaccine advocacy has never, or any anti-vaccine rhetoric, has never been a part of my message. Means has questioned the safety of the childhood vaccine schedule in public appearances and the use of oral birth control When asked she said birth control should be accessible but women should know the risks The medical establishment has largely opposed her nomination Will Stone NPR News Vice President J Vance says the Trump administration is pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concerns. The providers on the ground in Minnesota have actually already been paid. The state has paid those providers the money. What we're doing is we are stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that's being perpetrated against the American taxpayers. It's part of what Vance says is an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds for the health care safety net for low-income Americans. As of late 2025, nearly 70 million people were enrolled in Medicaid nationwide. Allegations of fraud involving daycare centers run by Somali residents in Minneapolis prompted the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities. Former Harvard University President Larry Summers will step down from his teaching and administrative positions following revelations over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. From member station GBH in Boston, Kirk Carapesa reports some students are celebrating Summers' resignation. Harvard says Summers will retire from his academic and faculty appointments at the end of the school year and remain on leave until then He won teach or take on any new students to advise Harvard senior Jessica Wong says that welcome news On one hand I very happy that no female student will have to be advised by him. But at the same time, like, there never should have been a culture that allowed this to happen. Summers is also resigning from his role leading the Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Business and Government. In a statement, he says his decision to leave was difficult, and he's grateful to the students and colleagues he's worked with. For NPR News, I'm Kirk Karapesa in Boston. U.S. stocks rose today, largely erasing their losses for the week so far. The S&P 500 gained more than three quarters of a percent. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. A North Dakota judge will order several Greenpeace entities to pay an expected $345 million to a pipeline company in connection with protests against the Dakota Access Oil Pipeline nearly a decade ago. A jury trial found the environmental group liable for defamation and conspiracy. Greenpeace says it doesn't have the money to pay the judgment and plans to appeal. Scientists have shown that it's possible to make some artificial intelligence systems smaller and more efficient. NPR John Hamilton reports on a new study in the journal Nature Researchers set out to shrink an AI model that acts like a part of the brain visual system When they started the model used 60 million variables But Ben Cowley of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory says the team was able to make a streamlined version that had just 10,000 variables. And that is incredibly small. This is something we could send in a tweet or an email. Cowley says the key was finding redundant or unnecessary elements and applying statistical techniques like those used to compress digital photos. The result suggests that a type of AI system that now requires a torrent of electricity could get by with just a trickle. John Hamilton, NPR News. Police in the Dominican Republic have arrested a woman who sang the country's national anthem in a high-tempo style during karaoke. A police report accuses 64-year-old Amariles Brito Rodriguez of disrespecting the anthem. A video from earlier this month shows her singing and moving to the beat as diners join in. Police say they arrested her at home. She says she meant no harm and didn't know it was illegal. She says she wrote her version more than 22 years ago. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.