NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-20-2025 7AM EDT

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

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A lot happens in Washington every day, from the White House to Capitol Hill and everywhere in between. That's where we come in. On the NPR Politics Podcast, we keep you up to date on what happens inside Washington and what it means for you and your community. The NPR Politics Podcast. Listen wherever you listen. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korova Coleman.

A federal judge is refusing to temporarily block the Trump administration's takeover of the US Institute of Peace. The USIP is a congressionally funded think tank. Its takeover has been led by Doge. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports some former members of the Institute of Peace have sued, claiming they were unlawfully removed from their positions.

The lawsuit seeks to reinstate the board members who were removed and to block Doge from further accessing the Institute or its systems. At a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said she was very offended by how Doge has moved to take over USIP. That includes threatening criminal prosecution and showing up with armed law enforcement to remove senior employees from the building.

But Judge Howell says there is confusion in the lawsuit and that she has concerns about its likelihood of success on the merits. She therefore denied the former USIP board member's request for a temporary restraining order blocking Doge's actions while the lawsuit proceeds. Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. The Federal Reserve has left short-term interest rates unchanged. Fed Chair Jerome Powell says there is uncertainty in the U.S. economy. He says some of that is linked to President Trump's tariffs. Investors have been rattled because these have been on again and off again. And Pierre's Maria Aspin says some market instability happened last week when President

Trump did not rule out the chance of a recession because of tariffs. The argument Trump is making is that tariffs will be good for the U.S. long term and that will be worth any shorter term pain. But most people don't really want to experience any pain, even if it does turn out to be shorter term. So when Powell emphasized yesterday that the U.S. economy is strong and prices aren't soaring up too much yet, at least for the day, that was a pretty reassuring message.

And Piers Maria Aspin reporting. Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennet is casting doubt on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's future in Democratic Party leadership. And Piers Barbara Sprunt reports, Bennet stopped short of calling for Schumer to step down. — Schumer has come under fire from House Democrats and within his own caucus

for voting to advance GOP legislation that prevented a shutdown of the federal government. Schumer had signaled that Republicans didn't have the votes to advance their spending measure, but later shifted course, arguing the bill's passage was the lesser of two evils. At a town hall in Golden, Colorado, Senator Bennett was asked when he would call on Leader Schumer

to leave his leadership position. And in dodging your question, let me just say, it's important for people to know, you know, when it's time to go. Bennett said he didn't think the message was clear to the public what Democrats were fighting for and said there would be conversations in the foreseeable future about democratic leadership. Barbara Sprunt, NPR News, Golden, Colorado. You're listening to

NPR News from Washington. NPR has learned that President Trump is poised to sign an executive action today. This directs the U.S. Secretary of Education to move toward closing the Department of Education and giving oversight to the states. This move has been expected for weeks, and about half of the Education Department's staff has already been told they're being laid off. The federal D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a computer scientist's bid to copyright a piece of art. It was made by artificial intelligence. NPR's Bobby Allen reports the plaintiff plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The federal appeals court wrote, This case presents a question made salient by recent advances in artificial intelligence. Can a non-human machine be an author under the Copyright Act of 1976? Its answer, no. And that's because the 49-year-old law says only a work made by a human can be copyrighted. The Missouri computer scientist Stephen Thayer says he guided his AI to create an image called a recent entrance to paradise, and the AI deserves to own it. The Copyright Office has granted copyright to work

assisted by AI, but Thayer says the AI itself should be an author. The Federal Appeals Court rejected this. Thayer says he is appealing. Bobbi Allen, NPR News. Food and Beverage Corporation, Nestle, USA, is recalling some of its frozen meals made by stoffers and lean cuisine.

The company says a few batches could be contaminated by what it calls wood-like material. There's a report that one person had a potential choking incident. I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington. -♪ Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force, showing up in your everyday life.

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