NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-17-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

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Here on Shortwave, we believe that science is for everyone and that every question is worth asking, no matter your age. My name is Willie and my question is, is magic real? Our podcast is for the curious at heart. Come embrace your inner child when you listen now to ShoreWave from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. A federal judge today chastised the Department of Justice for defying multiple rulings ordering that flights carrying some alleged members of a Venezuelan gang turned around Saturday. NPR's Sergio Martinez Beltran reports on today's hearing.

The Trump administration has until midday Tuesday to explain why it did not comply with the judge's 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 US Institute of Peace is the scene of a hostile takeover this evening by the Trump administration's government efficiency group, DOJ. They forced their way into the building with the help of DC police. We hear from NPR's Michelle Kellerman. In a brief statement, USIP acting president George Moose writes, quote,

Doge has broken into our building. They came with someone that the Trump administration has tried to put in charge. An attorney for USIP, George Foote, has been fighting this in court. We're very confident that what's happened here under the guise of a change of control is wrong and will be upheld in court. But we were having civil discussions about that and then suddenly muscle arise with guns and we're kicked out of the building. The U.S. Institute of Peace is a think tank funded by Congress.

It is not a government agency and the president can only fire board members for cause. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News, the State Department. The Trump administration wants to make it easier to build affordable housing on federally owned lands. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports the push will be led by the Department of Housing and Interior. 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. On Wall Street, the Dow rose 353 points, the Nasdaq was up 54 points today. This is NPR. Closing arguments are slated to get underway in a lawsuit filed by a pipeline company against the environmental firm Greenpeace. Greenpeace says the case could have consequences for speech and protest rights. Dallas-based Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access allege defamation, trespass, nuisance and other offenses by Netherlands-based Greenpeace International and its American branch, the pipeline company seeking hundreds of millions

of dollars. Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo will hold peace talks with the Rwandan-backed rebels that have launched a major offensive, more from NPR's Manuel Aconuoto. The M23 rebels said they will send a delegation to peace talks with the DRC in the Angolan capital Luanda. DRC's President Filiq Shehsekhadi had long vowed not to negotiate with the group, which has occupied major cities in eastern DRC near the border with Rwanda. But the group's advance since January has fuelled criticism of the government and spread

fears of a potential coup in the DRC. Now the negotiations are set to begin. Rwanda denies backing the M23, a Tutsi-led rebel group, but the UN and countries like the US, but the UN and other countries including the US have accused Rwanda of arming M23 and using them to exploit DRC's mineral resources. Emmanuel Akinwotu, NPR News, Lagos. Since entirely remaking the board at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and making himself the chairman, President Trump visited the facility today.

Trump toured the Kennedy Center, then chaired a meeting of the center's board. Trump fired a number of members of the previous board, replacing them with loyalists. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. Neuroscientist Ethan Cross says, you may think it's healthy to vent about what's bothering you, but the problem is you often leave that conversation feeling really good about the person you just communicated with, but all the negative feelings are still there. Sometimes they're even more activated. Tools for managing our

emotions. That's on the TED Radio Hour podcast from NPR.