NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-09-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: March 9, 2025

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Neuroscientist Ethan Cross says you may think it's healthy to vent about what's bothering you, but... The problem is you often leave that conversation feeling really good about the person you just communicated with, but all the negative feelings are still there. Sometimes they're even more activated. Tools for managing our emotions. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR. Liveor Rahm Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm.

The city of Selma, Alabama is marking the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday with a commemorative march today. That pivotal event of the civil rights movement led to the passage of the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. NPR's Hansi Luong reports, voting rights advocates are calling on Congress to bring back key parts of the landmark federal law that the Supreme Court has dismantled.

Democratic Representative Terry Sewell of Alabama is helping to lead the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. And so on March 7th, 1965, police bludgeoned civil rights icon, John Lewis and other peaceful protesters. If we are to truly honor John's legacy and the legacy of those who marched, bled, and died, we must work to restore the law they fought so hard to enact. Sewell has reintroduced a bill in Congress to restore a key part of the Voting Rights Act

that the Supreme Court ruled was out of date in 2013. The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU's Law Suas found that ruling has contributed to a growing turnout gap between white voters and voters of color. Hanzi Luong, NPR News. President Trump's special envoy for hostages recently met with the militant group Hamas that is still holding hostages in Gaza. Adam Bowler called his meetings very helpful, that they were designed with the goal of bringing the hostilities to a close.

I do think there's hope. I think that Israel has done a wonderful, masterful job eliminating Hamas, Hezbollah, a number of other enemies in the state that makes things possible that weren't possible before. And I think you could see something like a long-term truce where we forgive prisoners, where Hamas lays down their arms, where they agree they're not part of the political party going forward. I think that's a reality that's real close. Boller was interviewed on CNN. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine is fully committed

to a constructive dialogue with representatives of the Trump administration in Saudi Arabia later this week. After President Trump raided Zelensky in the White House last month, the U.S. has cut off military aid and intelligence to Ukraine. NPR's Joanna Kikissis reports from Kyiv. Writing on social media, Zelensky said realistic proposals to end the war are on the table and the key is to move quickly and effectively. Meanwhile the Trump administration has moved closer to Russia which continues to strike Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles. Ivana Klimpush-Sansata, a Ukrainian lawmaker involved in transatlantic

relations, says the US is nourishing Russian ambitions. And that means for Russia, United States is weak. It's not about make America great again. It's about make America weak. This weekend, Russia hit a town in eastern Ukraine with ballistic missiles, killing at least 14 people. Joanna Kekesis, NPR News, Kiev. And you're listening to NPR News in Washington.

The Secret Service reports officers shot a man near the White House this morning when he brandished a gun. He was hospitalized. His condition has not been released. There were no injuries to the Secret Service personnel. President Trump was at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, at the time of the shooting. British scientists have confirmed what many owners of Labrador dogs can tell you. They eat a lot. But as Nikki Barker reports, the findings may shed

light on their owners' dietary habits as well. Why do some Labrador dogs waddle around swathed in fat while others remain sleek and slim? On the off chance that this was not down to overindulgent owners, Cambridge University scientists analyzed the genes of 250 Labradors, looking for a genetic basis for that urge to overeat. They found changes in one gene in particular present in the heavier dogs, and then discovered the same overeater gene was associated with high body mass in humans, suggesting that genetic predisposition, not willpower, keeps the pounds off.

Or as one of the authors told the BBC, owners of slim dogs are not morally superior, and the same is true of slim people. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. In London, a barefoot man climbed a Big Ben tower yesterday holding a Palestinian flag and he wouldn't come down. It took several hours before responders removed him using a cherry picker. Traffic around the palace of Westminster came to a halt and tours of the Houses of Parliament were cancelled.

I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington. Making time for the news is important, but when you need a break, we've got you covered I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.