NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-17-2025 9AM EDT

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

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Support for NPR and the following message come from the estate of Joan B. Kroc, whose bequest serves as an enduring investment in the future of public radio and seeks to help NPR produce programming that meets the highest standards of public service in journalism and cultural expression. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Corva Coleman. Strong storms in the central and southeastern U.S. are blamed for at least 39 deaths over the weekend. People were killed in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama. From Troy Public Radio, Emily Moser reports on what people in southern Alabama experienced. People in Troy, Alabama, who once considered themselves living in the woods, say that has

changed after a tornado toppled hundreds of trees around their homes. Don Wambles with the Alabama Disaster Relief Association has rushed to many scenes of destruction to provide aid but he breaks down when talking about the tornado in his own neighborhood. You see the damage of destruction to people's lives and the fact that they're just absolutely overwhelmed by the damage. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has expressed condolences to those across the state who have experienced property damage and loss of life.

For NPR News, I'm Emily Moser in Troy, Alabama. President Trump says he will speak with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin tomorrow. The Trump administration continues to pursue a ceasefire deal in Ukraine. Trump has said he's cautiously optimistic about a peace deal. NPR's Charles Maines reports that's despite a list of concerns that Putin raised about the ceasefire plan. President Putin is on record saying he supports Trump's ceasefire proposal in principle, but the Kremlin leader also laid out a laundry list of issues that he insists require further discussions.

That includes how to keep Ukraine from using the ceasefire to rearm, who would monitor the agreement, and what penalties might exist for violating its terms. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accuses Russia of stalling for time to improve its battlefield position. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to demand what a senior Russian foreign ministry official called ironclad security guarantees, excluding Ukraine from NATO membership and ruled out NATO-aligned European peacekeepers monitoring any ceasefire if and when it comes. Charles Maynes, NPR News.

A federal judge in Boston has set a hearing this morning to review the deportation of a doctor from Lebanon. NPR's Tovia Smith reports the judge says he has received serious allegations that the Trump administration disobeyed his court order not to deport the doctor who was legally working in the U.S. Rasha Alawi, a kidney transplant doctor at a Brown University affiliated medical group, was here on an H-1B visa. That's the one meant for highly specialized workers,

and she went to visit family in Lebanon, and when she returned, she was detained for 36 hours at Boston's Logan Airport. Apparently, even her lawyers made a frantic call to the airport control tower, trying to stop the plane she was on, but they say officials, quote, willfully disobeyed the judge's order

and sent her back anyway. NPR's Tovia Smith reporting. On Wall Street in pre-market trading, Dow futures are down by about 160 points. You're listening to NPR News. President Trump claims that pardons given by former President Joe Biden are quote, void. Writing online, Trump claims that's because Biden used an auto pen to sign the pardons.

There is no evidence of that. Trump singled out members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attacks who received preemptive pardons. The Constitution specifically says the president has pardon power, and it does not say that subsequent presidents have the power to revoke these. The Vatican has released a photo of Pope Francis praying in a hospital chapel. NPR's Joe Hernandez reports the 88-year-old pontiff has been hospitalized in Rome for

more than a month. The image published online by the Holy See Press Office shows Francis sitting in a wheelchair inside the hospital's private chapel. The Vatican says Francis, who was wearing a white robe and purple vestment, was praying after having just finished concelebrating Mass Sunday morning. The 88 year old Pope entered the hospital on February 14th for a case of bronchitis. While there he developed several other medical issues including a poly microbial infection and pneumonia in both lungs.

But doctors now say Francis is stable and responding well to his ongoing treatments. Joe Hernandez, NPR News. On this St. Patrick's Day, numerous cities around the country are holding events and parades to celebrate Irish heritage. New York City is holding its parade today. Boston celebrated on Sunday. St. Patrick's Day was originally observed as a religious holiday. The U.S. observes March as Irish American Heritage Month.

I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.