NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-17-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

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Making time for the news is important, but when you need a break, we've got you covered on All Songs Considered, NPR's music podcast. Think of it like a music discovery show, a well-deserved escape with friends, and yeah, some serious music insight. I'm going to keep it real. I have no idea what this story is about. Hear new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday, wherever you get podcasts. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The White House is defending the deportations

of 261 people despite a federal court order against the transfers over the weekend. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt says the deportations were a counter-terrorism operation against Trenda Aragwa, the gang that President Trump designated as a foreign terrorist group last month. All of the planes that were subject to the written order, the judge's written order, took off before the order was entered in the courtroom on Saturday.

And the administration will of course be happily answering all of those questions that the judge poses in court later today. Levitt addressed questions about whether a verbal order carries the same weight as a written order. An emergency hearing in that case is scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern. At that White House press briefing today, Leavitt also echoed President Trump's claims that Biden-era pardons, including those for lawmakers on the House select committee that investigated the January 6th attack on the Capitol, are, quote, void because they were signed via auto pen. Without providing evidence,

Levitt suggested that former President Biden's aides might have signed his name to documents without his permission. Trump will visit the Kennedy Center this afternoon. As chair of the Performing Arts Center's board, Trump says he plans to get more involved in its programs. Here's NPR's Elizabeth Blair. Not long after taking office,

President Trump ousted board chair and major donor David Rubenstein and eventually landed the job himself. He also ousted board members selected by President Biden because he said they didn't share his, quote, vision for a golden age of arts and culture. In his first term, Trump did not attend major events at the center, including the Kennedy Center Honors.

Past honorees include George Clooney, Rita Moreno, and Barry Gordy. At today's board meeting, the New York Times is reporting he will propose changes to the advisory committee that selects honorees. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington. A Chinese automaker has unveiled a new battery system that the company claims can recharge as quickly as a gas car can refuel. Car makers around the globe have been working to make electric vehicles charge faster and drive longer.

More from NPR's Camila Dominovski. At BYD's press conference, a giant screen was totally packed with eye-popping stats about the new platform. It claims a top charging speed of 1,000 kilowatts. In the states, the very fastest chargers top out at 350 kilowatts. BYD says that one five-minute charge can take a car 400 kilometers. That's about 250 miles. But that will require building a whole new charging network that can deliver that much

energy. The new vehicles are not yet for sale, and you won't be seeing them in the U.S. Both the Biden and Trump administration have worked to keep Chinese cars out. Camila Dominovski, NPR News. U.S. stocks trading higher this hour, the Dow now up 462 points or more than 1%. This is NPR. Angola is scheduled to host direct peace talks tomorrow between the Democratic Republic of Congo and M23, the Rwandan-backed rebel group that has captured key areas of eastern Congo.

However, M23 now says it is boycotting because of sanctions the European Union announced today. 25,000 runners from around the world raced through the streets of Los Angeles yesterday for the 40th running of the LA Marathon. Elise Hew reports this community-wide event felt especially meaningful after the disastrous wildfires in January. The 26.2 mile race took runners from Dodger Stadium on through iconic LA neighborhoods of Chinatown, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills.

Spectators and supporters lined the entire route to cheer on the athletes. One of them was 15 year old Abel Rivera, who lost his childhood home to the Eaton Fire in Altadena. His neighborhood is just beginning to clean up and think about rebuilding after wildfires tore through it. For young Abel, training to run the marathon distance helped keep him calm and centered through tragedy. It feels like a milestone and running the marathon is nostalgic.

It reminds me of times before it had the fire. Abel ran with 3,000 other Los Angeles middle and high school students. They take part in a program called Students Run LA. For NPR News, I'm Elise Hugh in Los Angeles. The Dow Jones Industrial Average up nearly 480 points or more than 1% at 41,967. The SMP is up more than 1% as well. This is NPR News. These days there's so much news. It can be hard to keep up with what it all means for you, your family, and your community. This is NPR News.