NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-21-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

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Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force, showing up in your everyday life, powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the Shortwave podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. The Israeli military has ordered the demolition of dozens of Palestinian homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Jenin has been a focal point of Israel's extended military operation in the enclave, the longest in more than two decades.

And Piers Katlansdorf has more. In an order obtained by NPR, Israeli commander Avi Bluth instructed troops to demolish 95 residential buildings in the neighborhood beginning this week. This is part of a two-month-long operation that Israel says is for counterterrorism. The military has already emptied the camp of residents. The Israeli military told NPR the demolitions are a, quote, operational necessity

and that residents can contact authorities to, quote, explore the possibility of getting their belongings. Palestinian officials in Jenin tell NPR that Israel has yet to allow residents to collect personal items. More than 40,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been displaced by Israel's military operation there. Israeli officials have said that those who have fled will not be allowed to return. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. International travel has been disrupted today. London's Heathrow Airport shut will not be allowed to return. Kat Lansdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. International travel has been disrupted today. London's Heathrow Airport shut down. A gigantic

fire at a nearby substation cut the power to the airport. Hundreds of thousands of airline passengers are affected worldwide. Some people are just stuck at Heathrow. John Moriarty was trying to fly home to Boston. I've called Delta and all the lines are busy so fly home to Boston. I've called Delta and all the lines are busy so they're not answering. I just called American Express Travel to see if they can help. I'm waiting. All the lines are busy. The head of the International Air Transport Association is outraged with London's Heathrow Airport. Willie Walsh wants to know why one of the world's most

important airports is dependent on a single power source without an alternative. He wants to know who is going to pay for the planning failure. NPR has been reporting on a development at the Department of Veterans Affairs that left 40,000 veterans facing foreclosure on their homes. NPR has learned many of them have now been put into new affordable mortgages through a VA rescue program. But as NPR's Chris Arnold reports, some in Congress want to eliminate the rescue program. 15,000 vets and their families now have new low-interest rate loans from the VA. Many were on what's called a COVID mortgage forbearance. That let struggling homeowners skip payments till they recovered financially.

It was also supposed to give them an affordable way to get current on their loans again. But then the VA pulled the plug on a key part of the program, stranding all these vets with no way to catch up. The new rescue program fixes that problem, but some Republicans in Congress want to basically kill it because they say it puts taxpayer money at risk. Industry and housing groups warn scrapping the program without replacing it with something else would mean foreclosures for a lot of veterans. Chris Arnold, NPR News. On Wall Street, stocks are lower.

The Dow Jones industrials are down 220 points. The Nasdaq is down more than 50. This is NPR. Federal safety officials are criticizing the state of Maryland for failing to check the key bridge near Baltimore. It collapsed last year after it was hit by a cargo ship. Six people died. The officials say there are more than 60 bridges in the U.S. that need to be checked.

President Trump's executive action to dismantle the U.S. Education Department could lead to less oversight of states and schools. The Gulf States newsroom's Stephen Basaha reports that is causing concern in Alabama. Trump signed the order about an hour before Democratic Congresswoman Terry Sewell spoke at a panel in Utah, Alabama. She got applause when she said she'd do all she could to push back. Not only am I a proud product of the black belt, but I am a proud product of public schools in the black belt. That region in Alabama is known for its rich soil,

high poverty, and history of slavery. Green County Superintendent Cory Jones also worries about federal oversight going away. By taking that federal umbrella away and put no funds in the state hands, we assume that our governor is going to do the right thing, but there's no guarantee. Jones said more than 40 percent of the district's funds come from the federal government. For NPR News, I'm Stephen Basaha in Utah, Alabama. The United Nations has declared this the inaugural World Day for Glaciers. Utah, Alabama. KORVAT KOLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN

NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN NEWS ANCHOR, AM I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News.