NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-23-2025 3PM EDT

Episode Date: March 23, 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 Nora Rahm. A US delegation is holding talks in Saudi Arabia today with Ukrainian officials on a possible partial ceasefire with Russia. Tomorrow the US holds similar talks with Russia.

Special Envoy Steve Witkop sounded optimistic when he spoke with Fox News today. I think that you're going to see in Saudi Arabia on Monday some real progress, particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries. And from that, you'll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire. The war in Ukraine continues. The mayor of the capital, Kyiv, says at least three people were killed in Russian drone attacks overnight. The Health Ministry in Gaza said today the number of Palestinians killed since the start of Israel's war against Hamas now exceeds 50,000.

The war started in 2023 with a Hamas-led attack on Israel. The higher death toll includes hundreds of Palestinians killed at Israeli airstrikes that resumed last week. In Turkey, the imprisoned mayor of Istanbul appeared in court today for the first time since his arrest set off the largest popular protest there in more than a decade. Ekrem Imamoglu is a key rival of the Turkish president. Duri Buskarin reports. After Imamoglu denied all charges, a judge ordered him to remain in detention for the duration of his trial alongside several municipal employees also charged in the case. For days,

protests have grown in size across Turkey. More than 300 people were arrested late Saturday, with protesters saying they were beaten with batons, tear-gassed, and hit with plastic bullets. The Turkish Interior Ministry has announced that Imamoglu and two district heads have been removed from their duties, clearing the way for the government to install an Erdogan loyalist to lead Istanbul. For Empire News, I'm Darii Baskarin. Darii Baskarin One of the biggest unions of U.S. postal workers is holding big rallies around the country today to protest the Trump administration's proposals to transform the service.

NPR's Hansi Luang reports. The National Association of Letter Carriers represents mail carriers in cities, for demonstrating against President Trump's comments last month. It confirmed his administration is considering having the Commerce Department take control of what Congress set up to be an independent postal service. Legal experts say that would likely violate federal law. Trump has also said privatizing the country's mail service is, quote, not the worst idea he's ever heard. NALC President Brian Renfro says he's concerned that idea could lead to cutbacks to USPS delivering mail to just about every address in the country six days a week.

We think it is of utmost importance that it remain an independent federal agency so that it can remain the public service that it is. Elon Musk's Doge team recently signed an agreement that allows it to find efficiencies at USPS. Hansi Lawong, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR News in Washington. Police in Las Cruces, New Mexico say they've arrested two suspects in a shooting Friday night that killed three people and wounded 15 others. The gunfire erupted at a park during an unsanctioned car show.

Police Chief Jeremy Storey said it appears there were multiple shooters with multiple weapons among two groups. The suspects are a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy. They'll be charged with murder. Disney's Snow White may be the fairest of them all this weekend, but that might not mean that she's turning a profit. NPR's Bob Mandello has more. Snow White easily dwarfed the competition at cinemas.

The rest of the Box Office Top Ten combined made barely half as much as Snow White did, but this live-action remake of Disney's first animated feature only took in $87 million worldwide, and that means making back its $270 million production cost is going to be difficult. Disney has had a lot of success with live remakes of its animated classics, and even when they don't cast a spell at the box office, they feed the company's other revenue streams — Disney Plus, sales of merchandise, theme park rides, even shows on Broadway. Still, for Hollywood, it's a disappointing start in a year that has yet to have a smash

hit. Bob Mandelo, NPR News. The White House announced today that Second Lady Usha Vance will travel to Greenland this week. The wife of Vice President J.D. Vance is to leave Thursday to visit historical sites and learn about its heritage. President Trump has said repeatedly that he wants the U.S. to buy the island, which has said it's not for sale.

I'm Nora Rahm. NPR News in Washington. That might have been the only time I've really faced myself. I'm Nora Rahm, NPR News in Washington.