NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-16-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

NPR News: 03-16-2025 11PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Hey, Sam Sanders here with KCRW personally inviting you to check out my new podcast It's an entertainment show that tries to figure out what makes the culture tick and tell the stories behind creators. We love New episodes are out every Friday wherever you get your podcasts Listen to the Sam Sanders show part of the NPR podcast network Live from NPR news podcast network. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Defense Secretary Pete Hagsess says the U.S. attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen will continue until the rebels stop shooting at commercial ships off their coast.

Speaking on Fox News Sunday, he also offered a warning to Houthi-backer Iran. This is about stopping the shooting at assets in that critical waterway to reopen freedom of navigation, which is a core national interest of the United States. And Iran has been enabling the Houthis for far too long. They better back off. Houthi health officials say at least 53 people have been killed in U.S. attacks this weekend. Houthi forces, meanwhile, launched 11 drones and a missile at U.S. ships on Sunday. The Pentagon says the drones were shot down and the missile fell into the sea.

President Trump's threat to put a 200% tax on wines and other alcohol from the European Union is hanging over that block as a trade war between the two sides escalates. And as Terry Schultz reports, some EU leaders are calling for more talks to try to avoid worst case scenarios. French Prime Minister François Barreau is suggesting it was a mistake for the EU to include Kentucky bourbon on its list of US goods that will be hit by tariffs next month in response to Trump's imposition of a 25% tax on imports of steel and aluminum last week. Bayrou told French radio it was probably a misstep to treat Kentucky bourbon like a trade threat. France will

suffer heavy losses as a major producer of wines and cognac if the U.S. goes ahead with further import duties, which Beirut says he hopes can be headed off. Trump insists the EU drop its intention to tax bourbon. EU tariffs on a wide range of U.S. goods are due to take effect in phases April 1st and April 13th. For NPR News, I'm Terri Schulz in Brussels. Electricity service is beginning to return more than 48 hours after a substation failure on Friday night left most of Cuba in darkness. Government officials say power

is restored to most of the capital of Havana, along with much of the eastern part of the country. It was the fourth blackout to hit that island nation in the past six months. The major storm that hit much of the central U.S. this weekend is now moving east. Michael Stevenson has lived in Walker County, Alabama for 65 years. He says he and his family took shelter in their basement as the storm moved through. He says he was shocked by what he saw when he went outside after the storm had moved on. Most of my house and everything's out in the road with the power lines and the trees

and all my vehicles are tore up. had moved on. Most of my house and everything's out in the road with the power lines and the trees and all my vehicles are tore up. My shop in the back is tore up. The storm is also expected to affect the Carolinas, East Georgia and Northern Florida where forecasters say damaging winds are still possible. State officials are warning people this weekend not to respond to texts that say you owe money for highway tolls. The texts impersonate state road toll collection agencies and try to get phone users to reveal financial information. They're called smishing scams. It's a form of phishing that relies on SMS texts on your phone. You're listening to NPR News. The bracket for the NCAA Division I Men's College Basketball Tournament has been announced. The SEC will send 14 teams to the dance and that's a new record.

NPR's Becky Sullivan has more. College sports fans are used to the SEC dominating college football, but now the conference is dominating men's college basketball too, including the Auburn Tigers who are the tournament's top overall seed. Auburn lost five games this season, four of them, to teams who were named number one or two seeds. Duke, Houston, and Florida are the other one seeds. Some of college basketball's most famous programs had mixed records this season. Kansas and UConn were named seven and eight seeds respectively, and the North Carolina Tar Heels are an 11 seed and will have to win a game Tuesday to even reach the round of 64.

The first four games tip off Tuesday and Wednesday. Then the round of 64 begins Thursday. Becky Sullivan in PR News. UCLA meanwhile is the top overall seed for the women's NCAA basketball tournament. It's the first time in school history that the Bruins are the top team in the tournament. They had just two losses on the season both of them came from Southern, California The Bruins were joined by South Carolina, Southern California and Texas as number one seeds It was a quiet weekend in North American box offices the Jack Quaid action comedy took first place with just

8.7 million dollars in ticket sales Mickey 17 and the spy thriller Black Bag are tied for second with seven and a half million dollars in sales. In its fifth weekend, Captain America, Brave New World came in fourth, while The Day the Earth Blew Up, a Looney Tunes movie, I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.