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Episode Date: March 17, 2025

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The Trump administration has sent more than 200 suspected Venezuelan prison gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador. This after Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a rarely used law giving the president wartime deportation powers. It's unclear if the deportations took place before a federal judge blocked Trump's use of this law yesterday. Amperos Aida Peralta reports the country has agreed to jail them for a fee. The government of El Salvador released videos showing U.S. Border Patrol handing over dozens

of men. Then the videos show the men in chains being escorted by armed guards. The videos show the men being shaved and then taken to El Salvador's maximum security prison. Salvadoran President Aibukele said 238 of them were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and another 23 were Salvadoran gang members. The US, he said, would pay a quote, very low fee to keep them in prison for a year. A spokeswoman for the presidency told NPR they did not yet know whether these detainees had been convicted in the United States. Ada Peralta, NPR News, Mexico City. A massive storm system that hit

the Midwest and South this weekend has left at least 35 people dead across several states. It's also caused lots of damage and left tens of thousands without power. In Mississippi, multiple tornadoes left at least six people dead, more than two dozen injured. The state's governor, Tate Reeves, declared a state of emergency and says the National Weather Service is tallying up the number of tornadoes.

And we could have as many as 12 tornadoes that came through our state over the last 48 hours. He says 23 counties in his state are reporting damage. Meanwhile, President Trump says his administration is ready to assist state and local officials as their communities recover from the damage. The storm system has moved to the northeast and the National Weather Service has issued tornado watches for parts of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The Federal Reserve holds its latest policy meeting this week, and Piers Rafael Naum has more.

After cutting interest rates three times last year, the Fed is widely expected to keep them on hold for a second consecutive meeting this year. The main reason is still inflation, which is still a little higher than what the Fed would like. And now there are rising concerns about how President Trump's tariffs will impact the economy. The US has introduced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, and the European Union and Canada have said they will retaliate. Trump is threatening to impose more tariffs, which is all but certain to

make things more expensive, potentially making it a lot harder for the Fed to bring down inflation. Rafael Nam, NPR News. U.S. futures contracts are trading lower at this hour. Dow futures are down about four tenths of a percent. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is heading to Paris and London to shore up alliances with two of Canada's closest and longest-standing economic and security partnerships. The former central banker, who turned 60 today, will talk to both work leaders about diversifying trade and possibly coordinating a response to Trump's tariffs.

He will also meet with King Charles. This is he faces President Trump's attacks on Canada's sovereignty. At a swearing-in ceremony Friday, Carney said Canada is fundamentally a different country and will never ever in any way shape or form be part of the U.S. It's his first trip abroad as Prime Minister. The bracket for the NCAA Division I men's college basketball tournament has been announced and the SEC will send 14 teams to the dance a new record. And here'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, NPR News. Critical futures are trading higher at this hour, up about three quarters of a percent at $67.67 a barrel. You're listening to NPR

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