NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-18-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: March 18, 2025

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Anas Baba is NPR's eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. Wherever you put your eye to the horizon, it's the same. Destruction everywhere. On the Sunday Story, what it's like to be a reporter covering the war in Gaza while also living through it. Listen now to the Sunday Story on the Up First podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. Israel is declaring the ceasefire in Gaza is over. Overnight the military launched airstrikes, which Gaza health officials say killed more than 400 people and injured at least 500 others across Gaza. Israel says it has started a new offensive dubbed Operation

Strength and Sword. Heard through an interpreter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a televised address a short time ago. From now on Israel will take growing action against Hamas with greater intensity. From now on negotiations will only be under fire. Hamas has already felt over the last 24 hours the Israeli strength, and I want to promise to you and to Hamas that this is just the beginning. In mid-January, Israel and Hamas agreed to an initial ceasefire of six weeks in which Hamas released 33 of its hostages, both living and dead. In return, Israel released close to 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees

who had been held in Israeli prisons. At the start of March, the first phase of a ceasefire ended. The second phase did not begin. Israel demanded more hostages be released before entering end-of-war talks. The White House says that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to start talks toward a ceasefire in Ukraine. Here's NPR's Asma Khalid. This news follows a highly anticipated phone call between Trump and his Russian counterpart as the American president tries to broker a truce. This is the first conversation Trump has had with Putin since Ukraine agreed last week

to a month-long ceasefire. Trump would like Russia to agree to that pause as well, with the goal ultimately to reach an end to the war in Ukraine. According to the White House, Trump and Putin agreed any move toward peace will begin with a quote, energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as negotiations on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea. And talks to do this will begin in the Middle East. Asma Khalid, NPR News, The White House.

A recent administration memo advises federal agencies that segregated facilities such as restaurants and waiting rooms are no longer explicitly banned in contracts. NPR's Selena Simmons-Stephen reports. The change came in a public memo issued last month by the General Services Administration, which was prompted by President Trump's executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the one about gender identity. It includes a list of nine clauses to exclude in future contracts. One of them explicitly prohibits contractors from having segregated facilities, like restaurants and housing and drinking fountains.

Melissa Murray is a law professor at NYU. She says businesses still have to comply with laws that ban segregation and discrimination. So it's symbolic, but it's incredibly meaningful in its symbolism. She notes these civil rights protections from the federal government have been on the books since the 1960s. Selena Simmons Duffin, NPR News, Washington. It's NPR. The Department of Justice is defending last weekend's migrant deportation flights carrying

alleged Venezuelan gang members, even though a U.S. district judge ordered the administration to turn the planes around. Today, government lawyers insisted the administration did not violate the court's written order. On social media, President Trump appeared to call for the judge's impeachment. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts then stepped in saying such calls were not appropriate. University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias says no judge has ever been impeached for a decision with which a president disagreed. It's only been for high crimes and misdemeanors and usually it is something like bribery or some other clear criminal activity.

Tobias speaking with NPR. The California legislature is considering whether to divert funding for climate change toward efforts to lower the cost of living in the state. Residents are facing rising energy prices among other costs. From Embracing KQED Guy, Marzorati reports. Fires and heat waves made worse by climate change have driven up the price of home insurance and electricity in California. Right now, money in a state greenhouse gas reduction fund largely goes toward long-term projects like building housing and transit. Stanford climate research scholar Michael Warris says the question for lawmakers

is whether that approach is sustainable or whether we need to be thinking about giving money back to people. That could mean larger credits to lower residential electricity bills. For NPR News, I'm Guy Marzorotti in San Jose. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.