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Episode Date: March 15, 2025

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Hey, I'm Scott Schaeffer. And I'm Marisa Lagos. We host Political Breakdown. With the 2024 election over and President Trump in the White House, there's going to be a lot to keep up with this year. Political Breakdown has got you covered. We'll bring smart analysis, a wide range of voices, and even some laughs. Join us for Political Breakdown every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from KQED, part of the

NPR Network. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. The Senate Friday passed a six-month spending bill just hours before a partial government shutdown was scheduled. Democrats were frustrated by the measure, which does little for their key priorities, including health care and housing assistance. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it was a bad bill, but a shutdown would have been much worse for the country. A shutdown would allow Doge to shift into overdrive. It would give Donald Trump and Doge the keys to the city, the state and country and that is a far worse alternative. The measure is now heading to President Trump for his signature.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is demanding that any remaining Ukrainian forces operating in a border region of Russia lay down their arms. The Kremlin leader presented the surrender terms as a gesture following a plea by President Trump to spare their lives. MPR's Charles Maines has more. At issue is the status of Ukrainian forces who launched an incursion into Russia's border region of Kursk seven months ago. Moscow's had little luck driving them out until recently. Putin says his forces now have the Ukrainians

surrounded, acclaimed Kiev disputes. Meanwhile, President Trump has called on Putin to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers, something Putin says he would do if Kiev gives the orders for the men to lay down arms and face justice. Ukraine's toehold in Kursk has emerged an early test of American efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev, with Russian officials presenting Ukraine's support for the U.S. proposal as a naked bid to prevent the soldiers' demise. Charles Maines, NPR News. A SpaceX rocket has launched with four astronauts to the International Space Station.

As NPR's Jeff Brumfield reports, the launch is a big step toward getting two other astronauts home after a longer than expected mission. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off smoothly from its pad in Florida. Five, four, three, two, one, ignition and lift off. On board are two NASA astronauts, a Japanese astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut. They'll be part of the next crew at the station. Their launch clears astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williams to come back to Earth. Wilmore and Williams arrived at the station last June aboard an experimental spacecraft

built by Boeing, but problems with that spacecraft caused NASA to send it home empty and extended the stay of Wilmour and Williams from roughly a week to more than nine months. Jeff Brumfield, NPR News. President Trump's handling of the economy has led to historic jumps in consumer anxiety. The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment fell 10.5 percent on a monthly basis in March. It also fell 27.1 percent over the same period

last year. The preliminary report also shows the largest monthly jump in consumer expectations of annual inflation since 1993. Stocks rallied one day after the S&P 500 closed more than 10 percent below its record. This is NPR News. A former U.S. Senator from Wyoming, known for his bipartisanship and sharp wit, has died. He was 93 years old. As Wyoming Public Media's Olivia Wheats reports, Alan Simpson had been struggling to recover from a broken hip injured in December.

Rancher and former Wyoming House of Representatives Speaker Albert Summers says Simpson represented Wyoming values. He just always struck me as a man with such great integrity, was always straight up and funny to boot. Summers described Simpson, who served in the U.S. Senate for almost 20 years, as an old school Republican. I really respected him as a politician because he believed that solutions

were a product of compromise. Simpson helped overhaul immigration in the 1980s and was appointed to a commission on fiscal responsibility by former President Barack Obama. He supported abortion access and gay rights. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022. For NPR News, I'm Olivia Weitz in Cody, Wyoming. Arlington National Cemetery has removed historical information about prominent African-American, Hispanic and female veterans from its website. That's according to an official not authorized

to speak with the media. The official says the removed information and links is in compliance with an order from top Pentagon officials. A major storm system crossing the U.S. is causing huge problems in the central states at this hour. Texas officials say that three people have been killed there in vehicle crashes during a dust storm in the state's panhandle. High winds are also strengthening wildfires underway in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.

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