NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-23-2025 4AM EDT

Episode Date: March 23, 2025

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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 started by the Biden administration, and the new rules for these people say they must leave the U.S. by April the 24th. NPR's Henry Manmatt Bustillo said this is part of a larger program by President Trump to speed up deportations. We're also seeing a push to remove protections from those who were given permission to be in the United States by the Biden administration.

Most recently, the Department of Homeland Security said that it will revoke what's considered a parole program for half a million people who are Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. This means that people who are currently eligible to work, go to school, and be in the U.S. are set up for potential deportations in about a month. The Trump administration is urging those people in the program to self-deport, face arrest, and then eventual removal by the immigration officials. In Lexington, Kentucky, Saturday,

hundreds packed what was billed as a people's town hall to express their frustrations at their congressmen and the Trump administration. From Member Station WEKU John McGeary reports. More than 900 people filled the historic Kentucky Theater, with dozens voicing their anger at Congressman Andy Barr, a staunch ally of Elon Musk and President Trump. Cancer survivor Kim Edwards said she's concerned about the Trump administration's actions towards the type of research funding that saved her life.

His freeze, the court interventions, the drastic cuts to any IH grants, all of these have thrown our nation's research on cancer into chaos. The town hall was organized by a group called Gathering for Democracy, which bills itself as cross-partisan. Earlier in the week, Barr announced a tele-town hall for Monday night he said could reach up to 75,000 people. For NPR News, I'm John McGarry in Lexington, Kentucky. The bar announced to tell a town hall for Monday night he said could reach up to 75,000 people. For NPR News, I'm John McGarry in Lexington, Kentucky.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations will not directly interact during Monday's ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports that Ukrainians doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin really wants peace. Drones and missiles continue to rain down on Ukrainian cities, and Ukrainians say they don't trust that Putin will negotiate in good faith. In Kiev, taxi driver Hanady Horosimov says he doesn't have much hope for the talks. The fact is, it's a big show, really. There will be no truce, he says, because Putin does not want peace and Trump doesn't look like the leader of a big country that's defending democracy.

Horasimov says the only way to end this war is if the West helps Ukraine beat back Russian forces. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv. This is NPR. The busiest airport in Europe, Heathrow Airport, is now back up and running and the airlines say they're working to clear the backlog after an electrical fire shut down the operations earlier in the week. Travel plans for hundreds of thousands of people were disrupted because of the fires but it could take several days to get the airport back to full operations. The mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma is making an historic push to support tribal sovereignty.

As Elizabeth Caldwell of Member Station KWGS reports, more than 100 cases involving the native defendants have been brought to tribal courts despite the pushback from the state's governor. Charges from assault to speeding were shifted to the purview of the Muskogee and Cherokee nations. 24-year-old Andreas Mondu says he's ready to get his traffic tickets out of the city and into tribal court. You know, the tribal, you know, they help people. Rather than these people, they want your money. They don't care about you at all. At least with tribal, you can have people who can actually help you. You have benefits from them. People who actually like genuinely care for you.

The push to send cases to tribes is part of Mayor Monroe Nichols' plan to support native autonomy. Tulsa's first black mayor is setting himself apart from Oklahoma's governor, who's accused Nichols of giving away local law enforcement power. For NPR News, I'm Elizabeth Caldwell in Tulsa. Three people were shot to death. 15 were wounded during an altercation at a park in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Friday night, police are calling this an incident at an unsanctioned car show. This is NPR News from Washington. Support for it. There's a lot of news happening. You want to understand it better, but let's be honest, This is NPR News from Washington.