NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-23-2025 1AM EDT

Episode Date: March 23, 2025

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Following the news out of Washington, D.C. can be overwhelming. I'm Scott Detrow and NPR has a podcast that can help. It's called Trump's Terms, stories about big changes the 47th president is pursuing on his own terms. Each episode is short, usually around five minutes or so. We keep it calm and factual. We hope you follow what matters and we leave out what doesn't. Listen to Trump's Term terms from NPR.

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dan Roman. The Trump administration is moving to end temporary legal status for more than half a million people who arrived in the U.S. from Canada, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. They were part of a temporary parole program that was started by the Biden administration, and the new rules say those people must leave by April the 24th. NPR's Hannah Monop-Bustio reports this program is part of a larger program by the President to speed up deportations. He really focused on having a plan for a quote, mass deportation effort. In his first two months in office, he has taken steps to see this through.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement regional offices have daily arrest quotas to meet, detention centers are maxed out, and this is according to DHS themselves. On the trail, he also promised to use things like the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to be able to deport people quickly. We saw this come through last weekend when he invoked the act and sent over 130 Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador. The issue with the deported Venezuelans is now before a federal judge in Washington. A ruling on the case could come as early as next week. Protests have popped up at Tesla dealerships across the country, opposing Elon Musk and the Department of Government efficiency effort. From member station KWGS, Ben Abrams reports the demonstrators and Musk supporters met

in Tulsa on Saturday. Around 60 protesters who've been gathering on Saturdays voiced their anger at cuts to government by the Musk-led Doge team. About a dozen people sympathetic to the GOP platform looked on like Trump supporter Chuck Williams, who spoke to some demonstrators. I'm not coming at none of them wrong. I'm not here to start arguments or anything like that. If I don't understand something, I want to be explained to. You don't have to yell it, push it down my throat, just explain it. That's all I'm looking for. The gathering followed a social media offer from a local man to pay people to support Tesla at the protest.

No one reported being compensated and the mourning ended peacefully. For NPR News, I'm Ben Abrams in Tulsa. No arrests have been made in connection with a mass shooting in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Johnny Kuker of Member Station KRWG reports. Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Storey says some 200 people were gathered at Los Cruces as Young Park for an unsanctioned car show when an altercation between two groups led to an exchange of gunfire. Story said his department has been struggling with efforts to address public safety concerns

at Young Park, a popular music and events venue. In a perfect world where I had 220 police officers like I'm supposed to, they probably would have been different last night. But I had no units available for most of the night prior to the shooting. I wish it would have been different. The Las Cruces Police Department said they're being assisted by state and local agencies, as well as the FBI and the ATF in their investigation. And you're listening to NPR.

Kitty Dukakis, the wife of former Massachusetts governor and the 1988 presidential candidate Michael Dukakis has died. She was 88. Her son said she was surrounded by her family when she died. The Dukakis family was very open about Kitty Dukakis' challenges concerning mental health and addiction to prescription pills. Her son John said she made the world a better place by sharing her vulnerabilities. Pope Francis will leave the hospital Sunday after being treated for a severe respiratory illness, his medical term said on Saturday. They said

he will return to the Vatican. He will need up to two months of rest to make a complete recovery. NPR's Emma Bowman reports. The 88-year-old Pontiff has spent over five weeks at Rome's Gemelli Hospital. He was admitted with a case of bronchitis that doctors said had evolved into pneumonia in both of his lungs. Sergio Alfieri, the hospital's head of surgery, told journalists on Saturday that the pope is in stable condition and that he will continue to receive medical care while at the Vatican. Today we are happy to say that tomorrow he will be at home.

The Vatican says Francis will give his blessing shortly after noon on Sunday to a crowd outside the hospital, his first public appearance since being hospitalized. Emma Bowman, NPR News. As the NCAA men's basketball brackets are being busted across the country, the ESPN bracket tracker said there are now only three perfect brackets out of more than 24 million that started before the competition. This is NPR.