NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-21-2025 1PM EDT

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

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Oh, hey there. I'm Brittany Luce. And I don't know, maybe this is a little out of pocket to say, but I think you should listen to my podcast. It's called It's Been A Minute, and I love it. And I think you will too. Over the past couple months, over 100,000 new listeners started tuning in. Find out why. Listen to the It's Been A Minute podcast from NPR Today. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump says if there were U.S. war plans for China, he wouldn't show it to anyone, including his Doge architect, Elon Musk. Certainly, he wouldn't show it to a businessman who is helping us so much. He's a great patriot.

He's taking, he's paying a big price for helping us cut costs and he's doing a great job. He's finding tremendous waste, fraud and abuse. But I certainly wouldn't want, you know, Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible perhaps to that. At the White House a short time ago, Trump disputed news reports that Musk was going to take part in a Pentagon briefing today on military plans involving China. This morning, a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Musk had been expected to attend a high security briefing to be attended virtually as well by the head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which includes China. However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Musk was in his office for informal talks about efficiencies and smarter production.

Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, says that Israel will annex parts of Gaza, warning Hamas that the longer it does not release hostages, the more territory Israel will take. That's as Israel has continued airstrikes there since it broke the ceasefire earlier this week. More from NPR's Kat Lonsdorf. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News Anch. In a statement, Kat said that the Israeli military will be intensifying the fighting until the hostages are freed.

He said he had instructed troops to, quote, seize additional territory in Gaza while evacuating the population, and that Israel would annex more and more land until Hamas agrees to the demands. More than 550 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire was broken, including hundreds of children, according to health officials there.

Thirty-six-year-old Ramifayez Abunasir helped pull his young brother from the rubble after their home in the north was hit in a strike. He talked to MPR's Anas Baba from a hospital. The war is back and it's stronger than before, he said. Kat Lonsdorf, MPPR News, Tel Aviv. The entire state of Vermont has 11 programs that offer daytime care for older adults and respite for caregivers. Vermont Public's 9ACEC Reports program administrators warn potential cuts to Medicaid could mean

even fewer options. Vermont has an estimated 70,000 unpaid family caregivers. 50-year-old Nikki Juvan is one of them. Her husband has had several strokes, and she says an adult day program he attends in Middlebury has been a lifesaver. It meant that I could go to work and continue to do my job knowing that he was being taken care of and also, you know, that he was being engaged with other people. Medicaid helps pay the cost and Juvan worries that lawmakers in Washington

will cut funding to these programs. That's NPR's Nana Keck reporting. At last check on Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 39 points at 41,913. This is NPR. Texas and New Mexico health officials say measles cases in their states continue to rise. The number now up to 351. The numbers have been climbing in recent months, including 34 infections reported over the last three days. More people have received a measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination this year in Texas and New Mexico compared to last year. Though officials say they would like that number to be higher, pharmacies across the country, especially in Texas,

are seeing more demand for MMR shots. Cases have also been reported in other states. Librarians in Cincinnati got a shock recently when an overdue book was returned after 98 years. For Member Station WVXU, Tauna Weingartner reports it was in such good condition, it's being put back into circulation. The copy of Wild West by Bertrand W. Sinclair was due back on November 23, 1926. Christopher Smith is a reference librarian with the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library.

I've seen books come back that were due in the 80s, in the 90s, and even the 70s, but this is the first time I've come across a book that was almost a century overdue. Family members discovered the book after an elderly loved one died, though Smith says it's unclear who actually checked it out all those years ago. The library no longer charges late fines, but if it did, he calculates it would be roughly $730. For NPR News, I'm Tana Weingartner in Cincinnati. 27 points. This is NPR News.