NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-17-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

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Am I a propagandist? A truth teller? An influencer? There's probably no more contested profession in the world today than mine, journalism. I'm Brian Reed, and on my show, Question Everything, we dive headfirst into the conflicts we're all facing over truth and who gets to tell it. Listen now to Question Everything, part of the MPR Podcast Network. Live from MPR News in Washington, I'm Shae Stevens. A federal judge has scolded the Justice Department for defying court orders to return the Venezuelan migrants who were flown out of the United States on Saturday. NPR's Sergio Martinez Bertran reports on today's hearing on the matter.

The Trump administration has until midday Tuesday to explain why it did not comply with the judges' oral and written orders to stop using the Alien Enemies Act to remove migrants to El Salvador. The White House says they include suspected members of Tren de Aragua, which the US recently designated a foreign terror group. The Justice Department argued that an oral ruling was not enough to stop them, but that they did not fly any more migrants once the written order was released. Judge James Boasper called that, quote, a heck of a stretch. The hearing raised multiple questions, including about the weight of an oral order compared to a written one. According to the White House, 261 people were removed to El Salvador, but only 137 of them were expelled under Trump's wartime power at the core of the case. Sergio Martinez Beltran, NPR News.

The Trump administration is proposing to make it easier to build affordable housing on public land. The story from NPR's Jennifer Ludden. The housing agency HUD says it will identify where the need for housing is greatest and work with local and state governments. The Interior Department will identify underused federal land suitable for residential living. A joint task force will work to streamline the red tape that comes with transferring or leasing public land. The U.S. government owns more than 600 million acres, and it's a big part of several western states.

But nationally, the housing shortage is most severe in major cities with far less federal land. Local opposition and labor shortages are persistent challenges for affordable housing, and tariffs are expected to drive construction costs higher. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington. President Trump and his Russian counterpart Putin plan to hold a phone chat on the war in Ukraine Tuesday amid efforts to pursue a ceasefire deal.

NPR's Charles Maines reports on what might be included in a possible truce. Charles Maines, NPR Spokesperson, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News,

NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News, NPR News Ukraine signed on to the ceasefire plan following negotiations with the US and Saudi Arabia last week. In doing so, Kiev appeared to smooth over differences stemming from that combative Oval Office meeting last month. Of course, when President Trump and Vice President Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before the press, in the aftermath Trump put a hold on all American military and intelligence support to Ukraine, a penalty he then lifted as soon as Kiev signed on to the U.S. proposal.

But the idea is that the deal has been always contingent on Russia doing the same, you know, will Putin reciprocate or not? Charles Mains reporting. You're listening to NPR. Israeli forces have resumed attacks against Hamas targets in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports at least 100 deaths and dozens of injuries from a series of airstrikes across the territory early Tuesday. Various news sites are quoting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that he ordered the attacks

because ongoing talks to extend the ceasefire in Gaza had stalled. Netanyahu as saying that he ordered the attacks because ongoing talks to extend the ceasefire in Gaza had stalled. Netanyahu says Amos repeatedly refused to release Israeli hostages and had rejected all offers from a White House envoy, including a proposed extension of the ceasefire that expired March 1. The California legislature is considering whether to divert funding for climate change towards efforts to lower the cost of living in the state. As KQED's Guy Maserati reports, the idea comes as California lawmakers grapple with rising

energy prices and constituents already feeling the costs of a warming planet. Fires and heat waves made worse by climate change have driven up the price of home insurance and electricity in California. Right now, money in a state greenhouse gas reduction fund largely goes toward long-term projects like building housing and transit. Stanford climate research scholar Michael Wara says the question for lawmakers is whether that approach is sustainable or whether we need to be thinking about giving money back to people. That could mean larger credits to lower residential electricity bills. For NPR News, I'm Guy Marzorotti in San Jose. US futures are virtually flat in after hours

trading on Wall Street. This is NPR News.