NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-21-2025 10AM EDT

Episode Date: March 21, 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 in Maryland has blocked Elon Musk's Doge entity from accessing personal data stored at the Social Security Administration. The judge also ruled Doge must delete any personally identifiable information gathered so far. NPR's Ashley Lopez reports. 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 Musk's team, quote, unbridled access to the personal and private data 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. President Trump is moving ahead with his executive action to eliminate the Department of Education. The agency was created by Congress and only Congress can fully get rid of it.

But Trump is slashing the Education Department staff by nearly half. He's getting strong backing from supporters, including Indiana Republican Governor Mike Braun. I'm a believer in competition. I like choice, and I especially like parents being in the driver's seat of their own kids' education, not the federal government trying to tell us how to do that. However, a group of 21 Democratic attorneys general is suing to stop these actions.

Israel's Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the dismissal of the country's domestic intelligence chief. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had moved to fire Shin Bet's chief Ronin Bar. Critics allege this is part of a power grab by Netanyahu. Thousands of Israelis have demonstrated against the firing. The Israeli Supreme Court's decision will block the dismissal of the Shin Bet leader until an appeal can be heard. Ukraine and Russia are accusing each other of continuing to attack energy infrastructure. This comes ahead of ceasefire talks that are supposed to take place soon in Saudi Arabia.

NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports Ukraine says Russia also shelled civilian areas in two regions overnight. Ukraine says Moscow's airstrikes destroyed residential neighborhoods in Zaporozhye and Odessa provinces Friday, smashing civilian homes and injuring at least six people, including a child. Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian regions partially occupied by Russian forces that President Vladimir Putin annexed in a referendum two years ago. He says Russia must have these provinces in any peace deal even though it doesn't fully

control three of them. Ukraine says it will never cede these territories to Russia. Experts say any peace deal would likely mean freezing the front line where it is and creating a Korean peninsula-type situation in Europe. Eleanor Beardsley in Peer News, Kiev. This is NPR. There's a significant interruption in international airline flights today. A major airline hub is closed, London's Heathrow Airport. Power was cut after a large fire broke out at a nearby substation. Hundreds of thousands of passengers are affected.

Some travelers have even been diverted to other countries. More than 30,000 customers in eastern Nebraska are still out of power. Earlier this week, a powerful blizzard stormed through and snapped power lines and disrupted electricity supplies. During their first year of college, students often experience a decline in their mental health. From Northwest Public Broadcasting, Lauren Patterson explains how new research shows spending time with therapy dogs might help.

Rather than petting a dog right before a test, students at Washington State University spent time with therapy dogs for longer sessions over their first semester. New research showed students who spent time with therapy dogs were less stressed and depressed than students who didn't. Patricia Pandry is a WSU professor who worked on the study. We find that giving them the opportunity to engage with registered therapy animals is actually a wonderful way to help them adjust to that first semester. Students who met and spent time with dogs over their first semester also had marked improvements in self-compassion, she says.

It's also a relatively inexpensive way to offer students who might be missing their pets from home more support, Pendry says. For NPR News, I'm Lauren Patterson in Pullman, Washington. Stocks are significantly lower on Wall Street. The Dow is down 450 points. This is NPR. Listen to this podcast sponsor free on Amazon Music with a Prime membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org.