NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-19-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

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There's a lot of news happening. You want to understand it better, but let's be honest, you don't want it to be your entire life either. Well, that's sort of like our show, Here and Now Anytime. Every weekday on our podcast, we talk to people all over the country about everything from political analysis to climate resilience, video games. We even talk about dumpster diving on this show. Check out Here and Now Anytime, a daily podcast from NPR and WBUR. Jack Spear Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Trump is describing a call today with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as fantastic. NPR's Mara Lysin reports the White House says Trump briefed Zelensky on

yesterday's conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to quote align the two countries' needs and requests. Zalensky had already agreed to a 30-day ceasefire plan proposed by the U.S. But Trump has not yet been able to get Putin to commit to a full ceasefire. Russia is insisting on conditions for a ceasefire, including the end of all military assistance to Ukraine. Russia did agree to end attacks on energy infrastructure, but continued bombing Ukrainian cities this week. The White House said that Trump and Zelensky did not discuss

the proposed rare earth mineral deal that had been on the table, but they did discuss another potential deal. According to the White House, Trump suggested to Zelensky that U.S. companies could help Ukraine run its nuclear power plants. Mara Eliason, NPR News, The White House. A federal judge is giving the Trump administration an additional day to respond to his questions about weekend deportation flights. NPR's Joel Rose reports the Justice Department is fighting not to reveal details about the flights carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from using wartime powers to quickly deport migrants from Venezuela that it accuses of being gang

members. Now Boasberg is demanding answers from the Justice Department about whether it deliberately flouted his orders when it allowed two deportation flights to continue. But the Justice Department is pushing back. In an emergency filing, lawyers accused Boesberg of quote, continuing to beat a dead horse. Boesberg agreed to extend his deadline for 24 hours to allow the Justice Department to consider invoking the state secret's privilege. The Justice Department has also appealed Boesberg's orders. Joel Rose, NPR News, Washington. Federal judges denied the request for a temporary

restraining order in a lawsuit brought by some of the former board members of the U.S. Institute of Peace who alleged they were unlawfully removed from their positions. Judge saying fundamental questions remained about the nature of USIP, whether it's an independent agency or whether it falls under the executive branch. Judge did say she was very offended by how Doge has operated at the Institute's building. Interest rates setting Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day meeting in Washington today. Fed policymakers saying the economy continues to expand at a solid pace. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also said there were signs the Trump administration's tariff policies are beginning to bite. Goods inflation moved up pretty significantly in the first two months of the year. Trying

to track that back to actual tariff increases given what was tariffed and what was not very, very challenging. So some of it, the answer is clearly some of it, a good part of it is coming from tariffs. Central Bank increased its inflation forecast for the year to 2.7 percent while reducing its outlook for GDP growth to 1.7 percent. The Dow is up 383 points. This is NPR. The Vatican says the condition of 88-year-old Pope Francis continues to improve, saying the pontiff no longer needs a non-invasive mechanical ventilation system to help him breathe at night.

Officials say Francis is also reducing his reliance on oxygen. Francis suffered from double pneumonia and while not entirely eliminated, is under control to the point. The Vatican says Francis celebrated Mass today. South African conservation groups are celebrating after winning a legal battle to protect the country's rapidly declining population of African penguins. Kate Bartlett reports the bird's colonies were threatened by overfishing. It seems South Africa's jackass penguins are having the last laugh. So called for the donkey-like brain sound they make, the iconic black and white birds were facing extinction

within the next decade. That's according to two wildlife groups who took the commercial fishing industry and South Africa's environment ministry to court to get greater protections for the few breeding colonies left in the Cape. The groups have agreed to no-go zones for the commercial anchovy and sardine fishing vessels that have been decimating the penguins' main food sources.

For NPR News, I'm Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg. A former engineer for rapper Ananam has been charged with stealing a musician's unreleased music and selling it online. According to the U.S. Attorney's in Detroit, engineer Joseph Strange is being charged with copyright infringement and interstate transportation of stolen goods. Strange's lawyer says the charges are untested allegations meant the matter should be handled by the courts.

Strange lost his job at the Rapper Studio in 2021. Other studio employees reported seeing them release music online. This is NPR. 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.