NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-09-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: March 9, 2025

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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 in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The Republican-controlled House has released the details of a government spending plan ahead of a deadline to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of the week. NPR's Eric McDaniel reports the legislation contains a number of provisions backed by

President Trump. 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 MP Arts' Eric McDaniel reporting. The National Endowment for the Arts has agreed to remove a requirement forcing artists to certify that they will not promote gender ideology in their funding applications pending the results of a legal challenge. NPR's Chloe Veltman reports Arts Group sued the NEA last week over the requirement. The NEA issued a declaration attesting to the removal of the new language by March 11th. It comes after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of four arts groups with the US District Court for the District of Rhode Island on Thursday.

The suit seeks to revoke an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, preventing the use of federal funds for art that can be seen as promoting gender ideology. However, the NEA has not yet agreed to remove its eligibility criteria, so applicants still won't get funding if the government thinks their project contradicts the executive order. Vera Adelman is the lead counsel on the case. This is a huge step towards initial relief. We won't stop fighting until these new requirements are struck down for good. A hearing date is scheduled for March 18th.

Chloe Valtman, NPR News. Human rights groups in Syria say hundreds of people have been killed in revenge attacks in recent days. NPR's Jane Araf reports the new Syrian government has flooded the region with fighters to try to restore order. The killings targeted Alawite communities, the same religious minority to which deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belonged. The new government has been fighting loyalists of the old regime on the Mediterranean coast,

and the killings began there after government forces were killed in clashes. Syria has no army or even police force since the fall of the regime, and other fighters that the government now blames for the killings rushed in after the ambush. Syrian President Ahmed Al-Shara has tried to reassure minorities that government will protect them. This is the biggest challenge to central government rule since he took power. Jane Araf, NPR News, Damascus. This is NPR News. Alabama is marking the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday this weekend. It was a pivotal event in the civil rights movement when voting rights demonstrators

were brutally attacked in the city of Selma. The violence galvanized support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Emergency crews are working to contain a series of brushfires that broke out on New York's Long Island on Saturday. Bruce Convizer reports that dry conditions and strong winds are fueling the flames. A dozen of firefighting companies are battling the flames that have prompted local evacuations and the highway closure. Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency, enabling the New York National Guard to provide air support

for the firefighters on the ground. The National Weather Service had issued a fire alert warning prior to the burst of flames. The service noted that the grounds were dry from a dearth of rain, humidity was low, and winds were high. Winds in excess of 30 miles per hour were whipping flames across a miles-long radius Saturday night, making it difficult for firefighters to get the flames under control. For NPR News, I'm Bruce Kahnfiser in New York.

LORRAINE CINK, HOST, NPR NEWS ANCHOR, NPR NEWS A powerful cyclone has left more than 300,000 customers without electricity along the eastern coast of Australia. Officials say one person has been confirmed dead and a dozen troops responding to emergencies have been injured. Southeast Queensland and New South Wales are among the hardest hit regions. Forecasters say those areas haven't been hit by a cyclone

in more than 50 years. This is NPR News in Washington. This is NPR News in Washington.