NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-20-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

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Am I a propagandist? A truth teller? An influencer? There's probably no more contested profession in the world today than mine, journalism. I'm Brian Reed, and on my show, Question Everything, we dive head first into the conflicts we're all facing over truth and who gets to tell it. Listen now to Question Everything, part of the NPR Podcast Network. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education. On the campaign trail, Trump continually derided the department as wasteful and influenced by liberal ideology. He's proposed turning over at least some of

the agency's responsibilities to the states. He reiterated that point at today's White House signing ceremony. We're going to be returning education very simply back to the states where it belongs. And this is a very popular thing to do, but much more importantly, it's a common sense thing to do and it's going to work. Not entirely clear though is how it would work. Also not clear is whether Trump has the authority to actually dismantle the department created by Congress in 1979.

We take an act of Congress to shutter it. The White House says the department won't close right away, continuing to oversee things like federal student loans and Pell grants. President Trump campaigned on a pledge to drill baby drill and bring down the cost of energy, but oil companies would make less money if drilling sword and oil prices plunged.

MPR's Kamila Dombrowski reports the White House and oil execs are finding common ground on a different phrase, build baby build. President Trump met with oil executives at the White House this week. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum says that prices weren't really discussed. Prices set by supply and demand. There's nothing we could say in that room that would change that one iota. Instead, he says there was a lot of discussion of permitting,

making it easier to build things like pipelines and transmission lines, even if there's local opposition. Burgum said not being able to build baby build is an existential threat for the company. New projects are also a big priority for companies, and the White House argues they would eventually help lower prices. Camila Dominovski, NPR News. Long-standing dispute over water sharing between the U.S. and Mexico is raising concerns for

American farmers, particularly in South Texas. The U.S. government has now denied Mexico's latest request for water, citing ongoing shortfalls in Mexico's required deliveries. The Texas newsroom's Lucio Vazquez says more. Farmers in the South rely heavily on water deliveries from Mexico, but this year they have received just a fraction of what's required under a 1944 water treaty. Under the deal, Mexico delivers water from the Rio Grande, while the U.S. gives water to Mexico from the Colorado River. But U.S. officials say Mexico has continuously failed to hold up its end of the agreement. Because of this, the U.S. has denied water to Mexico. It's the first time this has happened since the treaty was signed. Mexican officials say there's

just less water to give due to drought. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in partnership with the state of Texas, recently launched a $300 million grant program to help affected farmers. I'm Lucio Vasquez in Houston. Stocks edge modestly lower on Wall Street today. The Dow fell 11 points. The NASDAQ was down 59 points. The S&P dropped 12 points. This is NPR. After ending a ceasefire in Gaza with a bombardment Tuesday, Israel continued its offensive overnight, the latest strikes killing at least 85 Palestinians across Gaza. Hamas responded by firing three rockets at Israel without causing casualties. Israel has blamed the return to fighting on Hamas, saying the militant group rejected a new proposal that departed from their agreement.

Rescuers say nearly 600 people have died in the latest wave of strikes. Rescuers also pulled a 25-day-old baby girl from rubble after one of the strikes. More than 300 Venezuelan migrants have landed back in their country today on a flight from Mexico. The government of Venezuela is giving them a hero's welcome and accusing the U.S. of mistreating its citizens, especially more than 200 Venezuelans deported from the U.S. and sent to prison in El Salvador. MPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Diosdado Cabello met this latest flight full of families and children. Its arrival was broadcast live on TV. Cabello, echoing declarations by Venezuela's leader, Nicolas Maduro, accused El Salvador of kidnapping its citizens when it allowed the Trump administration to send more than 200 Venezuelans

to a maximum security prison there. Direct repatriation flights from the U.S. to Caracas have been on hold. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela if the deportation flights did not resume, the U.S. wouldn't impose new sanctions. Kari Kahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro. U.S. oil futures moved higher today after the U.S. issued new sanctions related to Iran

in the Mideast, crude up $1.10 a barrel to $68.26 a barrel. This is NPR. This message comes from NYU Langone. The NYU Langone Health app gives you access to your electronic health record. barrel. This is NPR.