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

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

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Support for NPR and the following message come from American Jewish World Service, committed to the fight for human rights, supporting advocates and grassroots organizations worldwide working towards democracy, equity and justice at ajws.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Mahmoud Khalil is asking a judge to be released from custody. He is the Columbia University graduate student who the Trump administration is trying to strip of his green card and deport over his pro-Palestinian activism. As NPR's Adrian Faliha reports, he's being held at a detention center in Louisiana. Immigration agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil at his Manhattan apartment building on March 8th and flew him to Louisiana the next day. The government is resisting his lawyer's attempts to have him returned to New York. He wants to be released from custody while he fights deportation. Khalil's

wife is pregnant with their first child and expects to give birth next month. The petition filed by his legal team also asks the federal court to temporarily block the Trump administration from arresting anyone else for deportation because of their pro-Palestinian activism or for protesting Israel and its military operation in Gaza. Adrian Floodivo, NPR News, New York. President Trump says he'll speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow in the push to end the war in Ukraine. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports Ukrainians feel helpless as they watch the most important ally appear to cozy up to their worst enemy.

I meet 34-year-old Taras, who doesn't want to use his last name, strolling in a Kiv Park. He says President Trump has parroted Kremlin propaganda. Now there is a fear that senior U.S. officials may be in the same line with Russian leaders. Trump says his call with Putin could involve, quote, dividing up certain assets. Taras says Ukrainians fear a ceasefire could be forced on them, similar to when allies dismembered Czechoslovakia to appease Hitler.

Unique agreements, 1938, did it bring peace? No, World War II started. He believes Ukraine's forced capitulation would also lead to more war. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv. President Trump has tapped Michelle Bowman to serve as the top banking regulator at the Federal Reserve. NPR's Scott Horsley reports Bowman is a former community banker who served on the Fed's governing board for the past seven years.

President Trump said in a social media post that he plans to nominate Bowman to be the next vice chair for supervision at the Fed if confirmed she'll fill the vacancy left when Michael Barr stepped down at the end of February. Barr, who was appointed by former President Biden, continues to serve on the Fed's Board of Governors but gave up the bank supervision job to avoid what he said would be a distracting legal fight with the Trump administration. job to avoid what he said would be a distracting legal fight with the Trump administration. Bowman, who helped to run her family's bank and later served as state banking commissioner in Kansas, is expected to exercise a lighter regulatory touch than Barr. Banking industry groups were quick to praise her nomination. Scott Horsley in Pear News, Washington. Stocks are starting the new

trading week on a bit of an upswing after last week's extreme losses that left many investors worried. The Dow gained 353 points, the NASDAQ rose 54 points, the S&P 500 was up 36 points. This is NPR. Jesse Collin Young, the voice behind the Summer of Love anthem, Get Together has died. He was 83 years old. NPR's Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento has this remembrance. Jesse Collin Young and his band, The Young Bloods, did not write Get Together, but their rendition of the song captured the hearts of a generation wishing for world peace.

Come on, people in my love Smile on your brother, everybody get together Get Together climbed all the way to number five on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. After several albums with the Young Bloods, Young found success as a solo artist. He wrote and recorded music for more than five decades, much of which celebrated his love of the natural world. Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento, NPR News. Shopping mall Favourite Forever 21 has announced it is throwing in the towel and filing for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The maker of lower-priced handbags and cut-rate youthful clothing says it will shutter its U.S. businesses as shopping malls continue to fade in competition from low-cost online retailers, eats into sales. The company and its owners say they'll wind down the business in the U.S. while determining if Forever 21 can continue as a business with a partner or it will sell off all of its remaining assets. The ceasefire in the three-year-old Russian war in Ukraine hinges on Moscow accepting the U.S. proposal with 30-day pause in

fighting. That's as confidence-day pause in fighting. That's as confidence-building measures for both sides continues to hammer out a longer-term peace plan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Putin could look for a delay. You're listening to NPR. This message comes from NYU Langone. The NYU Langone Health app gives you access to your electronic health record. Keep track of your visits, lab results, and images all in one place.

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