NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-23-2025 12AM EDT

Episode Date: March 23, 2025

NPR News: 03-23-2025 12AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for NPR and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Ronan. Venezuela's government says beginning Sunday it will once again accept flights from citizens deported from the United States. The repatriation flights were halted by Venezuela's authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro. The Trump administration had threatened to slap more sanctions on Maduro if the flights did not resume. NPR's Kerry Kahn reports.

The president of Venezuela's National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, announced the resumption of flights in a statement on Instagram. Rodriguez, who has been negotiating with the U.S., stated, migration is not a crime and Venezuela will not rest until it secures the return of all those who require it. A week ago, the U.S. sent more than 200 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, claiming most were members of a violent gang. President Maduro says the deportations are a kidnapping

and demands the migrants return. Maduro's capitulationations are a kidnapping and demands the migrants return. Maduro's capitulation on accepting repatriation flights come as Trump is considering extending the Chevron oil company's license to operate in Venezuela, which provides vital revenue for the country. Kari Kahn, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro. That's the sound of anti-aircraft fire in Ukraine as Russian drones attack the city of Zaporozhye. Ukrainian officials said three people died, 14 others were wounded.

The city was hit by a dozen drones, setting several buildings and a car on fire. Earlier this week, Russian and Ukraine agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire to end the more than three years of fighting, although it's not clear what possible targets would be off limits in an attack. Authorities say the three people who were killed in this latest attack were all from the same family. An upcoming state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin is attracting national attention. It will determine whether liberals or conservatives control the court. attention. It will determine whether liberals or conservatives control the court. Chuck Kormbach of Member Station WUWM in Milwaukee has our story.

Republicans are backing suburban Milwaukee circuit judge Brad Schimel in the state Supreme Court race against Madison area circuit judge Susan Crawford, who is supported by Democrats. President Trump endorsed Schimel on social media Friday night and the GOP backed judge says there was a phone call with the president too. Schimel was asked what he promised Trump in return. Absolutely nothing. He called me and he knows about the race and he knows that it's important that we have the rule of law in Wisconsin. Crawford's campaign says Schimel has, quote, spent his entire career on bent knee

to right wing special interests. Early voting has started in the Wisconsin contest ahead of election day, April 1st. For NPR News, I'm Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee. On Wall Street, stocks will open Monday after ending the week on an up note on Friday. The Dow, the S&P and the NASDAQ all finished in positive territory. You're listening to NPR News.

President Trump on Saturday attended the NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. In the more than two months since he returned to the White House, Trump's travels have taken him to numerous sporting events including the Super Bowl in New Orleans, the Daytona 500 in Florida, and a UFC fight in New York City when he was the president-elect. This is the second time in three years that Trump has attended the NCAA event. New York City officials are warning that road salt is endangering the drinking water supply for more than 9 million people.

As NPR's Ava Puketch reports, the higher levels of salt cannot be easily filtered out or treated. The high salt levels in the drinking water could be harmful to people on low sodium diets and pose an environmental threat. Rohit Agrawala is New York City's Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner. We've protected the environment by reducing and stopping the use of harmful chemicals, whether it was DDT or PCBs or as we look forward things like PFAS and the forever chemicals. We now need to focus on road salt as something that is harming our environment. If salt level trends continue, city officials say the reservoirs that supply 10 percent

of the city's drinking water may eventually need to be abandoned. Eva Pukac, NPR News. The busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow Airport, is now back up and running. The airlines say they're working to clear the backlog this afternoon. Electrical fire shut down operations earlier this week. This is NPR News from Washington. Support for in