NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-15-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: March 15, 2025

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Hey, it's A Martinez a lot of short daily news podcasts focus on one story, but sometimes you need Tomas for up first on NPR We bring you the three top world headlines every single day in under 15 minutes because no one story can capture all that's happening It's the mundo tangrande on any given morning. So listen to the up first podcast from NPR Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Rahm. Officials in Missouri and Arkansas say at least 13 people have died of weather-related causes overnight. Frank Pereira is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He says several tornadoes were spotted. There were numerous reports of tornadoes overnight, some of them destructive across portions of

the Mississippi Valley, including the St. Louis metro area and also areas further to the south impacting parts of Arkansas as well as Mississippi. He says the central U.S. could also see severe or critical fire weather today with strong winds and dry conditions. Federal cutbacks have pushed hundreds of meteorologists, technicians, and more out of the National Weather Service. As Alaska Public Media's Eric Stone reports, some of them were scientists working on forecast models.

Between firings and so-called fork-in-the-road resignations, a Weather Service union official tells Alaska Public Media that nearly 300 out of 4,000 employees are no longer on the job. At the Environmental Modeling Center, which develops the nation's weather models, the union says about half of the jobs are now vacant. Retired Coast Guard Captain Ed Page says that's worrying. He says knowing the weather is even more important than wearing a life jacket. Of the top 10 things you need to worry about when you go to sea, number one is, what's

the weather? Weather experts say the cutbacks will mean less accurate forecasts across the country. For NPR News, I'm Eric Stone in Juneau, Alaska. The Senate is poised to approve legislation that would impose stricter penalties on fentanyl traffickers. NPR's Windsor Johnston reports the bipartisan bill passed the House last month and is expected to gain support from both parties in the upper chamber. The legislation proposes to permanently classify fentanyl as a Schedule I controlled substance.

That distinction would allow for harsher punishments for people using or selling the drug. Under the new classification, offenses involving 100 grams or more would trigger a 10-year mandatory prison sentence. The bill aims to curb the distribution of fentanyl in large quantities in the U.S. Critics argue that it may lead to the incarceration of people struggling with addiction without addressing the root causes of the opioid crisis. Senate Majority Leader John Thune this week said the bill gives law enforcement a critical tool to go

after criminals bringing fentanyl into the U.S. Windsor-Johnston, NPR News, Washington. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted a virtual call with about 25 leaders today on Ukraine. He said later that European nations and Western allies are ready to step up support for Ukraine if there is a peace deal reached with Russia. He said they agreed to continue to pressure Russia and to keep the military aid flowing to Ukraine. Starmor said if Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about peace, he should sign a ceasefire now. This is NPR News in Washington.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators showed up in the Serbian capital Belgrade today to protest government corruption. The protest began in November after a canopy collapsed at a train station in the northern part of the country, killing 15 people. Many blamed the tragedy on government corruption and negligence, and they demand the Serbian president step down. Idaho will become the first state in the U.S. to prefer execution by firing squad, thanks to a new law signed this week. Troy Oppie of Boise State Public Radio reports. State lawmakers approved the firing squad as a backup option in 2023 following the failure of several lethal injection execution

attempts. Republican state Senator Brian Lenny says it's a more reliable way to carry out capital punishment. With a 30 cal rifle bullet traveling somewhere around 3000 FPS, the death is instantaneous. And in this case, I think it's an act of mercy. For other states have death by firing squad as an option, none makes it the first choice. Idaho currently has nine inmates on death row and a capital trial scheduled this summer for the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in late 2022. For NPR News, I'm Troy Oppie in Boise. It's the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, time to dye the Chicago River green.

The tradition started in the 1960s. Mayor Richard Daley at first wanted to dye Lake Michigan green, but decided on the Chicago River instead. A plumbers union uses a non-toxic dye traditionally used to detect sewage leaks. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.