NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-21-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: March 21, 2025

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When you take a shower or get ready in the morning, how many products are you using? Everything from your shampoo to your lotion. In our study, we found that the average woman used about 19 products every day and the average man used about seven. These products might come at a cost. The ingredients they contain can be harmful to our health. Listen to the Life Kit podcast from NPR to learn more about the risks of personal care products. Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

President Trump says his administration will pass responsibility for the federal student loans from the Department of Education to the Small Business Administration. NPR's Frank Ordonez reports Trump says the change will take effect immediately. President Trump made the announcement in an Oval Office meeting saying that student loans will be better managed by Kelly Loeffler, the administrator of the Small Business Administration and her team. We have a portfolio that's very large, lots of loans, tens of thousands of loans, pretty

complicated deal. The announcement comes a day after Trump signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Education Department. Trump has argued the department is poorly run and that much of the work can be done more efficiently by the states. Trump says programs involving special needs and nutrition would be handled by the Department of Health and Human Services. Franco Ordonez, NPR News, The White House. The president says his close adviser on government cuts, Elon Musk, will not receive classified

briefings on China. At the White House today, Trump was asked about reports that the Pentagon planned a brief Musk about military plans for a possible war with China. Trump said he would not show it to the billionaire businessman or anyone else. Defense Secretary Pete Hagstaff also disputed the reports about a highly classified briefing but I don't want other people seeing anybody seeing potential war with China. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also disputed the reports about a highly classified briefing with Musk. Hegseth said he held an informal meeting with Musk in his office. Israel says it 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. And Piers Katlansdorf has more on the latest remarks

from Defense Minister Israel Katz. In a statement, Katz 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. 36-year-old Ramifayez Abunassir helped pull his young brother from the rubble after their home in the north was hit in a strike. He talked to Enbiyar's Anas Baba from a hospital.

Oh, by God, the day is much stronger. 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, MPR News, Tel Aviv. Some planes are flying again at Britain's Heathrow Airport after Europe's busiest flight hub was completely shut down by a substation fire and power outage. This is NPR News. Health officials in West Texas are reporting at least 309 cases of measles now, including a measles-related death. New Mexico's also raised its tally to 42. The tally in the two states and other places across the United

States is more than what had been reported nationwide for all of last year. Local health officials have been urging people to get vaccinated against the highly contagious disease. Pharmacies in Texas and New Mexico say they have seen the increase in vaccinations. Today is the first ever World Glacier Day sponsored by the United Nations. It is meant to draw attention to the role glaciers play in ecosystems and for people around the world. And Piers Jacob Fentzen reports their under grave threat due to climate change.

Some glaciers are millions of years old, ancient rivers of ice and snow that carve the landscape as they slowly inch downhill, like in Yosemite Valley. But around the world, they're shrinking at an alarming rate. Celeste Saulo, head of the UN's World Meteorological Organization, says we've lost 9,000 gigatonnes of glaciers since 1975. This is the equivalent of a huge block of ice the size of Germany, with a thickness of 25 meters. Glaciers act as frozen reservoirs, providing drinking water to millions of people and creating

habitats for plants and animals. Many of the world's glaciers will disappear entirely by the end of the century if we don't cut way back on burning fossil fuels. Jacob Fenston, NPR News. The Dow is closed up 32 points to end the day at 41,985. I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.