NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-15-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: March 15, 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. Noor Rahm Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Noor Rahm. Forecasters are warning of severe weather across much of the south today and tomorrow with damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes. This follows a series of tornadoes overnight that killed at least 14 people in Missouri and Arkansas. Damage is extensive. Molly Samuel

from member station WABE in Atlanta reports. Severe weather swept across the central U.S. Friday, damaging buildings, fanning wildfires, and spinning off tornadoes. The Weather Service expects the severe weather to continue this evening and into the morning, warning of the potential for numerous significant tornadoes. Governors, including in Alabama and Missouri, have declared states of emergency. In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp issued an emergency declaration ahead of the severe weather, which is expected to begin hitting the state Saturday night. In a statement, the governor urged people to prepare ahead of time, writing that the storm will hit at the worst possible time as people are heading to or already in bed. For NPR News, I'm Mollye Samuel in Atlanta.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he's kicking out the new ambassador from South Africa. NPR's Michelle Kellerman has more. In a fiery tweet, Secretary Rubio calls Ambassador Ibrahim Rasool a, quote, race-baiting politician who hates the U.S. president. Rubio says the U.S. has nothing to discuss with Rasool, and so he's considered persona non grata. Rubio initially misspelled the ambassador's name, as did an article he posted by the right-wing news organization Breitbart.

The article says that the ambassador told a foreign policy seminar that the Make America Great Again movement is a white supremacist response to demographic shifts in the U.S. Rubio canceled a trip to South Africa earlier this year, after Trump and his South African-born adviser, Elon Musk, falsely accused the government there of trying to steal land from white farmers. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News, the State Department. Britain's prime minister has met virtually

with more than two dozen world leaders, including the heads of NATO and the EU, to discuss how to enforce any ceasefire deal in Ukraine. Vicki Barker reports from London. Keir Starmer said his virtual summit yielded new commitments to support a ceasefire in Ukraine with firepower if necessary. Because we know from history, recent history, that a deal without security arrangements is not something which Putin respects. Sooner or later, Starmor said, Russian President Putin has to come to the table. A major military summit in London Thursday will discuss a peacekeeping force for Ukraine, and Starmor's so-called Coalition of the Willing will also

work on ratcheting up sanctions against Russia, including possibly using frozen Russian assets to rebuild the country. For NPR News, I'm Vicki Barker in London. This is NPR News. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they were hit by a series of air strikes today. President Trump said he ordered them to stop the Houthis from attacking ships in the Red Sea. He also warned Iran to stop supporting the group, which recently announced plans to resume

the attacks. Media mogul Sean Combs appeared in court yesterday in New York City, where he's facing federal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Sean Combs appeared in court yesterday in New York City where he's facing federal charges, including sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. NPR's Isabella Gomez-Zarmiento reports. Federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment against Sean Combs on March 6. It does not contain new charges against Combs, but it does describe a pattern of coercion and control, alleging that Combs forced his

employees to work long hours and threaten them so they would do what he asked. Combs, who has been in custody since his arrest last September, pleaded not guilty to the new indictment. The rapper and businessman still faces federal charges that include sex trafficking by force, racketeering conspiracy, and transporting for prostitution. Jury selection for Combs' trial will begin in New York City on May 5th. Isabella Gomez-Armiento, NPR News.

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 instead on the Chicago River. A plumbers union uses a non-toxic dye traditionally used to detect sewage leaks. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington. 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.