NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-09-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: March 10, 2025

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At this year's Oscars, Anorah took home the award for best picture, Zoe Saldana and Kieran Culkin also picked up wins, and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo delivered a show-stopping opening number. For a recap of all the highlights, listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR. JANINE HERPST Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Janene Herbst. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend talks on a peace plan between Russia and Ukraine that's being held in Saudi Arabia this week. Russian and Ukrainian officials will take part. And President Trump says he

thinks the talks will produce good results. We have a lot of good people going out there and I think Ukraine's going to do well and I think Russia's going to do well. I think some very big things could happen this week. Trump speaking to reporters there on Air Force One on his way back from Florida to the White House tonight says it's a senseless war and he's going to get it stopped. This is Russia stepped up a tax on Ukraine after the Trump administration suggested the U.S. may pause intelligence sharing with Kiev.

Canada's Liberal Party today voted overwhelmingly for former Central Banker Mark Carney to replace Justin Trudeau as the new leader of the party and prime minister designate. Carney was both the head of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. This now takes on Canada's economic challenges and President Trump's constant threats of tariffs, which have angered Canadians, currently has suggested general elections will be held soon. U.S. citizens in South Sudan are evacuating as fears grow over a return to civil war. Emmanuel Ngunza has more. The State Department ordered all non- emergency U.S. government personnel in South Sudan to

leave as the security situation worsens. There has been heavy fighting between government forces and troops allied to the first Vice President Riek Machar, who is under house arrest in the capital Juba. Rivalry between President Salva Ki and Machar led to a five-year civil war that killed more than half a million people before a fragile pistol was signed in 2018. The UN is warning that the peace process in South Sudan could collapse anytime. The US is attempting to evacuate its citizens through Kenya, the only viable route out amid ongoing conflicts in neighboring Sudan and Ethiopia. For NPR News, I'm Iman Ali Gunza in Nairobi, Kenya.

Firefighters are making progress battling a series of brushfires on Long Island that burned over 400 acres of land and prompted evacuations. But as NPR's Joe Hernandez reports, New York officials say they're still working to ensure that the fire doesn't spread as high winds continue. Suffolk County officials say there are no more visible flames, but that the fires are only partially contained, which occurs when a boundary is established around the perimeter

of a fire to stop it from spreading. The blazes began on Saturday, fueled by downed trees and fanned by 35-mile-per-hour winds. More than 90 fire departments and EMS agencies responded and New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency. Two firefighters were hospitalized with injuries and later released. NPR's Joe Hernandez reporting. U.S. futures contracts are trading lower at this hour. Dow futures down about four tenths of a percent. You're listening to NPR News. In Washington DC, work is scheduled to start tomorrow to remove the Black Lives

Matter mural on a street near the White House. It was painted nearly five years ago after the murder of George Floyd. Legislation by Republicans in Congress threatened to withhold federal money from the city if it wasn't removed. The bill is also calling for the plaza to be renamed Liberty Plaza. The city's black mayor says the mural inspired millions of people and helped the city through a painful period, but that the city can't be distracted by what she calls congressional interference. South African playwright, actor, and director, Athol Fugard, has died at his home in South Africa at the age of 92. Jeff London has more.

For six decades in close to three dozen plays, Fugard told stories about the corrosive effects of a political system which oppressed the black majority, as well as stories of the white minority. For much of his career, Fugard wrote in exile, and some of his black collaborators ended up in prison. Once apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela was elected president, the playwright thought his time had passed. But South Africa caught me by surprise again and just said, no, you've got to keep writing, man. There are still stories to tell.

His final play, The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, told the story of an aging artist and his life during and after apartheid. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. J.D. HIRST. Asian markets are trading in mixed territory, the Nikkei in Japan up two-tenths of a percent, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong down about seven-tenths of a percent. I'm Janene Hurst. NPR News in Washington.

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