NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-08-2025 11PM EST

Episode Date: March 9, 2025

NPR News: 03-08-2025 11PM ESTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

These days, there's so much news, it can be hard to keep up with what it all means for you, your family, and your community. The Consider This podcast from NPR features our award-winning journalism. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a news story and provide the context and analysis that helps you make sense of the news. We get behind the headlines. We get to the truth. Listen to the Consider This podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. House Republicans have released their plan to keep the federal government funded through September. What it is is sort of clearing House Republicans to-do list in

order to focus on Trump's priorities, basically keeping the lights on through the fall while they focus on the policy stuff. But it is interesting as far as stopgap measures go. Like most extensions, it keeps funding basically unchanged, but this time they're increasing defense spending and pairing back domestic spending with changes to the funding levels for lots of individual programs, though in the end it's just an overall spending reduction of about $8 billion. That's NPR's Eric McDaniel.

He says the bill as written does not touch social security and Medicare, but there are cuts for the National Institutes of Health, which is the nation's biggest health research hub. Russia says its troops continue to make progress in retaking territory seized by Ukraine in the Kursk border region. The Russian claims come as signs continue to grow that Kiev's forces have been struggling to maintain their positions. NPR's Charles Maines has our details. Russia's defense ministry announced the recapture of three villages as pro-Kremlin bloggers claim Russian forces were engaged in a larger counteroffensive in the Kursk region. While those claims could not be independently confirmed, satellite imagery appears to show

Russian forces have breached Ukrainian lines and now control some two-thirds of territory once held by Kiev's forces. Russian advances have dovetailed with the U.S.'s decision to suspend sharing military intelligence with Ukraine. And what President Trump says is an effort to bring Kiev to the negotiating table. Ukraine launched the incursion into Kursk last summer, seizing a sliver of territory as a future bargaining chip for negotiations with Moscow. Charles Maynes, NPR News.

The Vatican says Pope Francis is responding well to therapy for his double pneumonia and doctors say he's shown a gradual but slight improvement in recent days, but his condition is still listed as guarded. The pope has now begun his fourth week in the hospital. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency because of wildfires on Long Island. The fires have caused evacuations along the only major road headed into the Hamptons.

JD Allen with member station WSHU has more. Wildfires broke out Saturday along Sunrise Highway in the Pine Barrens region and 105,000 acre protected forests in Suffolk County. High winds, a dry winter, and damaged trees from an infestation of invasive southern pine beetle are making this especially dangerous. Hockel says 50 fire departments were called to fight the blaze in what officials call a large-scale coordinated countywide effort.

Two firefighters were hospitalized with burns. She said the fire may be contained within a day or two, but added it to be prepared for the worst. An Air National Guard base and a community college campus were evacuated. Officials say no more homes are in the path of the fire. For NPR News, I'm JD Allen on Long Island. And this is NPR News. JD Allen on Long Island. And this is NPR News. Clearing land for dairy cows and cattle is the biggest driver of deforestation in the Amazon. MPH's Julia Simon visited some farmers in Colombia who may have a solution to that problem. A herd of brown cows moves under trees drooping with moss and vines. In recent decades Carlos Hernando Molina

and his family have turned their farm into the best hotel for a cow he says. The farm practices silvopasture that's the intentional integration of trees grasses and livestock. Molina says after starting silvopasture they now have almost twice the number of cows per hectare. Researchers say to reduce the climate and deforestation impacts of cows, eating less beef and dairy is key as is increasing the efficiency of raising cows. Julia Simon, NPR News, Columbia. One person has died and several others have been injured as major rains and flooding hits the east coast of

Australia. Tropical cyclone Alfred weakened to a tropical low just before it moved inland today. Queensland's prime minister says more than 300,000 homes and businesses have lost power because of the storm. The area has not been hit by a tropical cyclone in 51 years. Colin Morikawa is in the lead following three rounds at the Arnold Palmer Golf Invitational underway now in Florida. He made a 12-foot birdie on the final hole for a 67 that gives him a one-shot lead over Russell Henley going into Sunday's final round.

Corey Connors of Canada sits in third, just two strokes off the lead. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. NPR News.