NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-20-2025 8PM EDT

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

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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. Live from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. President Trump has signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Department of Education. During his campaign, Trump promised to turn over at least some of the agency's responsibilities

to the states as well as push for support for private schools. NPR's Cory Turner reports. The White House is making very clear this is part of an effort to expand school choice across the country, including private school choice. President Trump has been a big champion of creating a federal tax credit to help families pay for private school tuition. Democrats would certainly oppose a move like that. I think overall we're seeing the Trump administration really try to shake the foundation of the nation's public education system right now.

It's not clear whether Trump has the authority to actually dismantle the department or take an act of Congress to shutter it. The White House says the education department won't entirely close right away continuing to oversee things like federal student loans and Pell grants. A federal judge in Maryland has blocked billionaire Elon Musk's team from accessing personal data at the Social Security Administration. The court also ruled members of his team dubbed the Department of Government efficiency have to delete any personally identifiable information they've collected. More from MPR's Ashley Lopez. In her ruling, Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander wrote that Musk's team has essentially been

engaged in what she called a fishing expedition at the Social Security Administration and this expedition she wrote has been based on little more than Suspicion of fraud the judge also noted that the agency gave members of must team quote Unbridled access to the personal and private data of millions of Americans that includes social security numbers medical records and of millions of Americans. That includes social security numbers, medical records, and bank and credit card information. And while the court has now limited Doge's access to much of that information, it does say that the agency is still allowed to hand over data that adheres to federal privacy laws. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. The Justice Department has charged three people involved in violent attacks on Tesla locations

across the U.S., living the acts as domestic terrorism. Attorney General Pam Bondi says defendants are facing prison sentences ranging from five to 20 years, NPR's Windsor-Johnston reports. One of the suspects is charged with throwing Molotov cocktails at a Tesla dealership in Oregon while armed with an AR-15 rifle. Another person is facing charges for attempting to ignite Tesla vehicles at a location in Colorado.

The Justice Department has charged a third person in South Carolina with vandalizing Tesla charging stations with messages against President Trump before setting them on fire. Authorities have linked the attacks at Tesla locations to anger over the seemingly arbitrary firings of tens of thousands of people overseen by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Windsor-Johnston, NPR News, Washington. Stocks closed lower today, the Dow was down 11 points, the NASDAQ fell 59 points. This is NPR. In one respect, even years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, work life still

has not returned to normal. A survey by Gallup looking at the workplace five years after the start of the pandemic finds many workers, even with a return to normalcy, still feel disconnected from their organization's purpose and are not clear on how to meet workplace expectations. Less than half of U.S. employees participating in the survey say they strongly agreed they knew what was expected of them at work. Meanwhile, Finland again has been named the world's happiest country, making it the eighth time in a row for the Nordic nation. Terry Schultz reports European countries keep the top spots in the annual survey of well-being while the U.S. has dropped precipitously. The World Happiness Report tracks how people in more than 140 countries feel about their

lives. This year, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and the Netherlands round out the top five, with Costa Rica, Israel and Mexico, the only non-European countries in the top ten. The survey is done by Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Gallup CEO John Clifton says data proves happiness is not based on wealth. One of the greatest correlates to seeing what makes life great is whether or not you live in a society that has community and where people feel safe.

Afghanistan ranks last. The U.S. dropped one spot to its lowest ever position at 24. For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels. According to a new study, certain blood tests for ovarian cancer can miss Black and Native American patients. The study published today in JAMA Network Open. Researchers looked at data for more than 200 women. Black and Native Americans were 23 percent less likely to have an elected-level blood testing compared with white patients.

This is 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. Better health starts with a better health system.