NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-22-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: March 22, 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 Noor Rahm. The Israeli military says it struck multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon after several rockets were fired toward Israel from the area.

Hezbollah has denied any involvement. Lebanese health officials said at least two people were killed, including a child. NPR's Kat Lanzdorf reports. Kat Lanzdorf Sirens rang out in northern Israel early this morning after a relatively quiet few months. The Israeli military said three rockets were launched from Lebanon and all were intercepted. Israeli officials instructed the military to take, quote, powerful action in response, saying the Lebanese government bears responsibility for any rockets launched from its territory. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned that renewed military activity with Israel

could, quote, drag the country into a new devastating war. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been in effect since late November. This is the first back and forth between the two since Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are backed by Iran. Kat Lonsdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Heathrow Airport has announced it has reopened after a fire at a nearby electrical substation

yesterday that closed Europe's busiest airport and caused global travel chaos. Villamarks reports. An airport spokesperson confirmed Heathrow was, quote, open and fully operational this morning, while airlines raced to get stranded passengers whose flights were diverted or cancelled through to their final destinations. The airport added hundreds of additional staff to help 10,000 additional passengers travel through Heathrow from around the world.

But travellers are still being asked to check their flight status as several routes early Saturday had already been cancelled. The shutdown had initially prompted the counter-terrorism force at London's Metropolitan Police Force to conduct an investigation. However, suspicious causes for the fire have been ruled out, leaving UK lawmakers and ministers concerned about the resilience of Britain's critical infrastructure. For NPR News, I'm Villamarks in London. Employees of Voice of America and various unions representing federal workers and journalists are suing

the federal government over its attempt to shut down the broadcaster. NPR's Emily Fang reports. Emily Fang, NPR Since World War II, Voice of America, or VOA, has been broadcasting to foreign audiences, mostly in countries the U.S. considers repressive or authoritarian. It's had particular resonance in China, where for decades the broadcaster was seen as a reliable uncensored source of news about China. But under the Trump administration and its federal cost-cutting drive, the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA, has taken it off air. The lawsuit filed in New York State Court this week says the agency overstepped and violated

the First Amendment right to free speech and suspending VOA's operations. Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, another broadcaster the agency oversees, has filed a separate, similar lawsuit. Emily Fang, NPR News, Washington. And you're listening to NPR News in Washington. An investigation is underway into a mass shooting at a park in Las Cruces, New Mexico last night. A city official says three people were killed and at least 16 people were wounded. The FBI and the state police are assisting local police. The Ethiopian army says it has killed more than 300 militia fighters in the northern Amhara region. Ethiopia is facing

multiple ethnic conflicts that have killed thousands and displaced millions. Emmanuel Ogunza reports. Thousands of people are fleeing villages and towns in Ethiopia's northern region of Amhara following days of heavy fighting between the national army and ethnic Amhara fighters. The Fano militia was a strong ally of the government during the two-year civil war that pitted the national army against the Tigray people's liberation front. But they rebelled two years ago after refusing to disarm, claiming a violation of a peace agreement that ended the war. Ethiopia is struggling with multiple ethnic conflicts in the north, south and west that have displaced millions. The country is teetering on the resumption of civil war

and war with neighboring Eritrea. For NPR News, I'm Emanuel Igunza in Nairobi, Kenya. The foreign ministry in Denmark has changed its travel advisory for its transgender citizens, advising them they may have trouble entering the US. It said the application for a visa contains two gender designations, male or female, that applicants with an ex-designation, preferred by many non-buyery people or those who have

changed their gender, should contact the U.S. Embassy for guidance. President Trump had signed an executive order calling for the federal government to recognize only two genders. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington. On the Embedded Podcast. No, no. It's called denying a freedom of speech. It's misinformation. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.