NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-17-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

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Public media counts on your support to ensure that the reporting and programs you depend on thrive. Make a recurring donation today to get special access to more than 20 NPR podcasts, perks like sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, early access, and more. So start supporting what you love today at plus.npr.org. Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Willman. Officials with the Houthi rebels in Yemen say U.S. airstrikes against Houthi targets this weekend have killed at least 53 people. And U.S. officials say the strikes will continue until the Houthis

agree to stop attacking commercial ships in waters off their coast. President Trump's special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff was on CNN on Sunday. Speaking about talks on Gaza with Hamas leaders, he said Hamas could learn from what's going on in Yemen right now. I think there's an opportunity for them, but the opportunity is closing fast. What happened with the Houthis yesterday, what happened with our strike,

ought to inform as to where we stand with regard to terrorism and our tolerance level for terrorist actions. And I would encourage Hamas to get much more sensible than how they have been. President Trump and Elon Musk are continuing their efforts to shrink the federal workforce, and Piers Marlison reports. Seven more agencies were targeted in an executive order Friday night, including the Agency for Global Media, which funds Voice of America, often the only nonpartisan source of news for people living under authoritarian regimes.

The deep cuts continued despite pushback from federal judges and from Republicans, including Vice President Vance, who told NBC News that there are, are quote a lot of good people who work in the government Vance also said that Musk had made mistakes with the mass firings, but Musk is sticking with his chainsaw approach He disparages and even savages federal workers calling them corrupt and incompetent He recently posted on X his social media platform that quote Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mao Tse Tung didn't murder millions of people, their public sector employees did. That post was later deleted. Mara Liason, NPR News.

Ukrainians have little faith that Russia will back the ceasefire deal approved by the U.S. and Ukraine a week ago in Saudi Arabia. As NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is accusing Vladimir Putin of stalling and setting preconditions so he could steal another week of war. Zelensky says Ukraine will intensify its diplomatic efforts, but that it must also, quote, preserve our independence, our state, and our people. Fierce clashes took place over the weekend in the Kursk region,

where Ukraine is trying to hang on to some of the Russian territory it captured last August. In Kiev, sunny weather brought out strollers, but people don't feel optimistic, says 34-year-old Konstantin Kosunotsky. There's a sense of anxiety, and the latest developments are not giving us calm or hope, he says. Those latest developments, says Kosunotsky, are the Trump administration's seeming support for Putin and the Russian invaders.

Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv. And you're listening to NPR News. President Trump says pardons for House committee members who investigated the January 6 riots are not valid. In a social media post early this morning, he claims without evidence that the pardons were issued by using an auto pen and Biden knew nothing about them. Trump says that means those who were pardoned are now subject to investigation. That would include former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney. Attorneys and advocates are

making last-minute bids to stop a Louisiana execution but a court decision says the state's first nitrogen gas execution can move forward. It will be the second state to use nitrogen gas for this purpose. The Gulf States newsroom's Kat Stromquist reports. A federal judge's ruling had temporarily blocked the execution citing possible, quote, terror and psychological pain with the gas method. But the Fifth Circuit court disagreed, pointing to legal precedents. Lawyers for Jesse Hoffman Jr. say they'll appeal, but for now, the execution is back

on. More than 100 people rallied against the execution at Louisiana's Governor's Mansion. They included civil rights lawyer Courtney Wilson. I ordinarily don't mix church and state but I will tell you that while there may be a constitutional way to kill somebody which I doubt, I am certain there is no Christian way to do it. Lawyers are also asking the state to witness Hoffman's execution which they say they don't have permission to do. For NPR News, I'm Kat Stromquist in Baton Rouge. Stock prices were up in Asia today after U.S. stocks rallied on Friday.

Some advances were also driven by China reporting stronger than expected factory data. Hong Kong's Heng Seng closed up 1.3 percent and the Shanghai Composite was up by six tenths. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. A lot happens in Washington every day, from the White House to Capitol Hill and everywhere I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.