NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-08-2025 10PM EST

Episode Date: March 9, 2025

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Bella DiPaolo is glad if you're happily married, but she is perfectly happy being single. I would love to have someone who took care of my car or someone who cleaned up the dishes after dinner. But then I'd want them to leave. From yourself to your dog, to your spouse are significant others. That's on the TED Radio Hour from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Schiavone. President Trump is urging congressional Republicans to pass a temporary government funding bill in hopes of avoiding a government shutdown. As NPR's Tamara Keith reports, Trump posted the measure on his social media site after House Republicans released

the contents of the measure. The government shuts down Friday night if a spending bill isn't passed. And with Republicans in control of both the House and the Senate, Trump wrote on Truth Social, quote, "'We have to remain united, no dissent, fight for another day when the timing is right.'" His argument is that although this measure

punts the deep spending cuts conservatives want, it buys time for Republicans to pass what he really wants, big tax cuts and bulked up spending on immigration enforcement. Democrats are already rallying against it, saying it hands too much power over to the White House to determine which programs are cut. Tamara Keith, NPR News, Palm Beach, Florida. Refugee aid groups across the U.S. are cutting staff and closing offices since the Trump administration froze funding for resettlement programs affecting thousands

of newly arrived refugees. NPR's Jennifer Lutton reports. Soon after arriving in the U.S., 21-year-old Jefferson, who asked not to use his full name, was alarmed when his case manager in Maryland was let go and his work phone cut off. I was left alone with no guidance in this new country, he says. Jefferson is a political refugee from Nicaragua and fears retaliation if he speaks publicly. The federal freeze also meant no rent money, so he says his refugee roommate

paid it with hardly anything left to live on. Amy Huang-Rona at Homes Not Borders says her group has stepped up fundraising to keep people from being evicted. Amy Huang-Rona, Homes Not Borders We are filling in the gaps. Resettlement agencies are challenging the federal freeze in court. Jennifer Lutton and PR News Washington. For a second consecutive night, Russia has launched heavy aerial attacks on Ukraine. This says the United States has stopped sharing satellite images with Ukraine. Phillips O'Brien is a professor of strategic studies at St. Andrews University in Scotland.

Russian advances had really almost stopped completely. And the Ukrainians had taken a very heavy toll on the Russians. The Russian losses were actually heavy and the Russians could maintain and go forward. The question we face now, of course, is with the US basically siding with Putin. It's not like they've just withdrawn from Ukraine, that they've withdrawn in such a way to provide a significant military advantage to the Russians, what we don't know is how significant that advantage will be and whether that will change what's happening on the battlefield. Professor Phillips, O'Brien and Scotland, Ukraine estimates at least 22 people have died over the past two days of Russian attacks.

This is NPR News in Washington. Utah is one of eight states and the only reliably-read state that conducts elections mostly by mail. The legislature approved a bill yesterday that would make significant changes to the vote-by-mail system. Sage Miller with Member Station KUER reports. Right now, all of Utah's 1.7 million active registered voters are automatically sent a ballot in the mail. They can return it the same way. But that's likely going to change.

Most Republican lawmakers voted to have voters opt in to vote by mail every eight years. If they don't, they will have to vote in person. They will also have to add the last four digits of a valid ID to the ballot as a voter ID measure. Supporters say the revisions improve election security and integrity. Critics argue elections will actually become less secure because it's easier to memorize the last four digits of an ID number than it is to forge a signature. Republican Governor Spencer Cox is expected to sign the bill.

For NPR News, I'm Sage Miller in Salt Lake City. Perhaps you've played or even been addicted to some of these games. In May, one of them will win the 2025 top honors at the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The finalists are Age of Empires, Angry Birds, Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare, Defender, Frogger, GoldenEye, Golden Tea, Harvest Moon, Mattel Football, Quake, NBA 2K, and Tamagotchi. Finalists selected for Longevity, Geocrafical Reach, and The Game's Influence. I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News. Following the news out of Washington, D.C. can be overwhelming. I'm Scott Detro and NPR has a podcast that can help.

It's called Trump's Terms, stories about big changes the 47th president is pursuing on his own terms. Each episode is short, usually around five minutes or so. We keep it calm and factual. We help you follow what matters and we leave out what doesn't. Listen to Trump's Terms from NPR.