NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-14-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: March 14, 2025

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There's no place like the garden, and this season, Garden Variety wants to help you flourish. Each week, the Heartland's top horticulturists, insect experts, foresters, and others drop by with fresh tips about everything you want to grow or grow better. Dig in to Garden Variety from Iowa Public Radio, part of the NPR Network. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has done a 180 and now says he will vote for the Republican-backed government spending bill. Earlier, he'd said he'd opposed it.

If Congress fails to pass the spending bill, the government will probably partially shut down late tonight. Schumer says that would give President Trump the power to eliminate more federal workers and declare whole agencies are not essential. And Pierce Deirdre Walsh says Democrats are furious about this choice. It does not look like we are heading towards a shutdown. Democrats are not happy with this bill. It was written without their input. But enough are expected to join with Republicans later today and pass it. Since the House passed the bill on Tuesday largely along party lines,

Senate Democrats have been debating and really agonizing about what to do. Do they help Republicans pass it? Since the House passed the bill on Tuesday largely along party lines, Senate Democrats have been debating and really agonizing about what to do. Do they help Republicans avoid a shutdown or block the bill and trigger one? They say both options are terrible. And bears Georgia Walsh reporting, House Democratic leaders say they still oppose this bill. President Trump's choice to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will appear for his Senate confirmation hearing today. Dr. Mehmet Oz will likely be questioned about his financial interests in health care companies. And PR Selena Simmons Duffin has more.

Dr. Mehmet Oz is a medical doctor, a cardiothoracic surgeon. He first became famous as a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show. That led to a radio show and daytime TVs, the Dr. Oz show. He built his fame and fortune by promoting alternative therapies like unproven diet products, cleanses and detoxes. If confirmed, his boss will be Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who Oz knows and featured as a guest on his TV show. Oz appears before the Senate Finance Committee and Democrats on the panel are expecting to

challenge him on his financial ties to health companies and his plans for the future of Medicare and Medicaid. CMS has an enormous budget of $1.5 trillion per year and provides health coverage for nearly half the population. Selena Simmons-Duffin NPR News, Washington. Russian leader Vladimir Putin says he is open to a possible ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine, but he's also raised a number of conditions. As NPR's Greg Myrie reports, President Trump says he is still hopeful Russia will join Ukraine in agreeing to a truce.

In his first public comments on the proposed ceasefire, Russia's President Putin said he supported the idea. But he also listed conditions he wants to discuss, like whether Ukraine will continue receiving weapons during the 30-day truce. Speaking at the White House, Trump called Putin's statement promising but incomplete. Meanwhile, Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin was quote, afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war. Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire earlier this week. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Washington.

You're listening to NPR. Two federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to rehire thousands of fired federal workers. The orders cover workers on probation who were newly hired over the past couple of years or had gotten promoted to new jobs. The judges say the firings appear to be illegal. The Trump administration says it will appeal. Longtime Arizona Democratic Congressman Raul Grijalva has died, according to his office.

He was 77 years old and had had complications from cancer treatment. Grijalva had formerly led the House Natural Resources Committee and was a longtime champion for Native American tribes and for immigrants. Officials are warning people across the U.S. about a scam, advising people to pay overdue highway tolls. NPR's Bill Chappell explains. The Federal Trade Commission says scammers are sending bogus toll notices to people around the country. The text messages are actually ploys to steal your money and possibly your

identity. Experts say do not click on any links in a suspicious message or respond to it. The FBI wants people to report the text and then delete them. As for why so many of us are getting these texts now, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group says it saw a flood of spam texts in January after New York City started congestion pricing on crowded roads. Now the scammers may be trying to take advantage of spring break travelers who might not be sure if they drove on toll roads. Bill Chappell, NPR News. NASA will try again tonight to launch a crude rocket to the International

Space Station. The mission would allow two stuck astronauts to return home after months in space. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington. Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.