NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-24-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

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Hey, I'm Scott Schaeffer. And I'm Marisa Lagos. We host Political Breakdown. With the 2024 election over and President Trump in the White House, there's going to be a lot to keep up with this year. Political Breakdown has got you covered. We'll bring smart analysis, a wide range of voices, and even some laughs. Join us for Political Breakdown every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from KQED, part of the

NPR Network. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. Israeli ground troops are advancing further into parts of Gaza as airstrikes pushed the death toll there past 50,000 Palestinians killed. That's according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Meanwhile, the armed wing of a smaller militant group in Gaza fired rockets at Israel today with Israeli air defenses intercepted. NPR's Ayah Betraoui is more. The latest attacks in Gaza killed two journalists in separate airstrikes, one of them a correspondent with Al Jazeera

in the north. Hossein Shabet was killed in his car while wearing a blue press vest. In a message written ahead of his death and posted posthumously online, the 23 year old says he risked everything to report the truth and that now he's finally at rest, something he wrote he hasn't known for the last 18 months of war. Israel did not immediately comment on his killing, but had previously accused him and other Al Jazeera journalists of ties to Hamas's military wing. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Israel to stop making quote unsubstantiated allegations to justify killing journalists.

Ayyub El-Traw which a journalist was included on a text chain containing details about a Trump administration plan for military strikes in Yemen has security officials rattled. Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in an interview with NPR says at first he thought the text sent via secure messaging app with a detailed timeline of the strike were hoax. So I'm very curious about this. So I watch it unfold in a very kind of credible way. I'm flummoxed by this because, and I guess this is a failure of imagination on my part.

I did not think that the CIA and the Defense Department and the Secretary of Defense would invite the editor of the Atlantic into a chat about bombing Yemen. National Security Council says the text chain appears to be authentic. President Trump today denied having any knowledge of the security lapse, which took place March 5th. Since taking office, President Trump has repeatedly suggested the US should take over

Greenland, a territory controlled by Denmark. Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly rebuked those advances, but this week Trump administration officials and second lady Uscha Vance are traveling there, and Pjors D. Persjivarame is more. Trump says the visit from Mrs. Vance and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is not a provocation and that the visit is purely friendly,

but he repeated his claim that Greenland is interested in being quote, taken care of by the U.S. I think Greenland's going to be something that maybe is in our future. I think it's important. It's important from the standpoint of international security. Vance, along with one of her sons, is attending cultural events in Greenland, including the national dog sledding race. Waltz, for his part, will visit a U.S. military base.

Deepa Sivaram, NPR News. Stocks closed broadly higher today as some of the recent uncertainty about Trump administration tariffs eased. The Dow was up 597 points. The Nasdaq rose 404 points. The S&P 500 gained 100 points today. You're listening to NPR. Each spring, the sky comes alive near the tiny town of Chateau, Montana. Huge flocks of migrating geese, swans, and other birds

swoop in for a rest on their long migration to summer in the Arctic Circle. Montana Public Radio's Ellis Julin takes us there for the annual Wild Wings Festival. Just before sunrise, hundreds of people stand in reverent silence on the windy shores of Freezeout Lake. The air is filled with the squawking of birds.

As the sun creeps along the horizon line, it throws pale hues of orange and pink. The white birds look like washed out flamingos for just a moment, before the color extends onto the snow of rocky mountain peaks in the distance. Lisa Hudnutt, a retired local teacher, watches in awe as the birds suddenly begin to take flight. Does it ever get old? No, it never gets old. The flock undulates overhead,

rising rapidly and growing quieter as it does. For the next few weeks, the birds will outnumber the people in this entire county. For NPR News, I'm Ellis Julin in Choteau, MT. Visitors to Yellowstone may soon get to take in a new attraction. Park officials say a thermal vent spewing steam into the air could be visible to tourists when park roads reopen next month after the winter. Scientists last summer documented the new vent, which features

steam coming from the ground, scalding 170 degrees or more. Scientists in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory says demographic or geographic features change in form over time. Yellowstone is famous for thousands of geysers and hot springs. Crude oil futures closed higher, oil up 1% today, settling up 83 cents a barrel in New York. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. Am I a propagandist? A truth teller? An influencer? There's probably no more contested profession NPR News in Washington.