NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-15-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: March 15, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Giles Snyder. Forecasters are warning of dangerous weather moving into the deep south today after multiple tornadoes were reported in the Midwest. There are reports of major tornado damage in Cave City, Arkansas. Matt Bloom of Member Station WWNO reports a forecast has thrown a wrench in St. Patrick's Day celebrations across the South. The threat of high wind and tornadoes in some areas led organizers of Baton Rouge's longest-running St. Patrick's Day parades to reschedule for Sunday.

Pat Shingleton is one of the lead organizers. He says this is the first time in the parade's 40-year history they've moved due to weather. You do what you gotta do. It's a great event. It's great great event. It's great for the city. People love it. Shickleton says the parade will be smaller because of the schedule change, but it will

still have floats and a bagpipe group. The threat of weather and tornado watches in some areas has also canceled parades scheduled in New Orleans and Huntsville. For NPR News, I'm Matt Bloom. President Trump's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education continues to be met with intense backlash. NPR's Windsor Johnston reports that more than a dozen Democratic-led states have filed legal action against laying off half the agency staff. Jennifer Svigel The Department of Education has already closed

seven of its 12 civil rights offices, including its location in San Francisco. That office supported students with disabilities and those facing harassment based on race, ethnicity, and gender. Critics argue that only Congress has the authority to abolish an agency like the DHS, stressing the department's role in protecting the health, safety, and education of children, especially kids from low-income families. The administration's efforts fulfill a long-expressed Republican goal, but have also sparked widespread protests across the nation and debates over the future of education policy and civil rights protections. Windsor-Johnston, NPR News.

The White House says that Hamas is making unreasonable demands and negotiations to extend a ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas has said publicly that it is willing to release the one American hostage still alive in Gaza, as well as the bodies of four other hostages. In a statement, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff says that Hamas is privately making impractical demands and that time is not on Hamas' side. Minnesota governor and former

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz is on the road this weekend holding town hall meetings as Republican members of Congress have been facing hostile crowds. In Des Moines, Walz responded to questions about President Trump's first two months in office and Elon Musk's effort to reduce the size of government. Elected officials need to hear what people are irritated about. And I would argue that Democratic officials should hear the primal scream that's coming from America is, do something, damn it, this is wrong. This is wrong. Well, this is to hold town hall meetings in Republican districts in Nebraska and Wisconsin

this weekend. This is NPR. A federal appeals court has temporarily lifted a block on President Trump's executive order that seeks to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at federal agencies and businesses with government contracts. The decision allows the order to be enforced while a lawsuit plays out. Some students at a Christian university in southeastern Washington state are protesting after a student was banned from running for student body president, allegedly for being in a same-sex relationship with West Public Broadcasting. Susan Shane has that story. Walla Walla University is affiliated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church,

so the issue falls into a legal gray area, says Jenny Peyser. She's the legal director at Lambda Legal, a nonprofit focused on LGBTQ rights. Either way, recent cuts to the agency that oversees Title IX violations mean that enforcement could be hard to come by. Here's Peyser. If there's no civil rights enforcers, there's no Department of Education,

it's all now become a sort of a vacuum. In an email, a Walla Walla University representative said campus leaders must advocate for and model Seventh-Day Adventist beliefs and behaviors. For NPR News, I'm Susan Shane in College Place, Washington. The replacements for the two astronauts who've been stuck on the International Space Station for the past nine months are on their way to the orbiting outpost. They are to arrive at the ISS late tonight. Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams are now expected to be back on Earth next week. They were only supposed to remain aboard the station for a week, but the Boeing Starliner capsule they were testing

malfunctioned. I'm Giles Snyder. This is NPR News. This message comes from NYU Langone. The NYU Langone Health App gives you access to your electronic health record. Keep track of your visits, lab results, and images all in one place. Better health starts with a better health system.