NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-24-2025 2AM EDT

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

NPR News: 03-24-2025 2AM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Talking about race can get messy. We know. Yeah, whether it's who you date, where you live, what you eat, or who you call your friends. On Code Switch, we try to make sense of it with you. We're talking to new voices and bringing you new stories every week. About some of the biggest. Or just the chewiest questions of our time. So come rock with us. Listen to Code Switch from the NPR Network. Live from NPR Network.

Live from NPR News in Washington, D.C., I'm Dale Willman. Israel has approved a proposal by the country's defense minister to create a structure to help move Palestinians out of Gaza. NPR's Hadil Al-Shalchi reports. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his plan is the start of implementing the quote, vision of the U.S. president. President Trump has proposed the displacement of Palestinians the, quote, vision of the U.S. president. President Trump has proposed the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza

and rebuilding the strip under U.S. ownership. Katz said that the new body would be under the scope of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and will help Palestinians in Gaza who want to leave to other countries in coordination with those countries' governments. He said this will include establishing pedestrian routes and coordinating travel infrastructure,

including by land, sea and air. Katz also said last week that the military was getting ready to seize more territory in Gaza if Hamas did not release all the hostages. Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. The Gaza Health Ministry meanwhile says the death toll in Gaza has passed 50,000 Palestinians since the start of the war in October of 2023. Members of one of the largest unions of U.S. postal workers held rallies across the country Sunday to protest the Trump administration's proposals to transform the agency.

As NPR's Hansi Lo Wong reports, Trump officials have floated the idea of bringing the independent mail agency under the White House's control. U.S. mail is not for sale! Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers in cities including Silver Spring, Maryland demonstrated against comments last month by President Trump. He cited trouble finances at USPS and said 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 will likely violate federal law.

NALC union steward Kevin Abernathy says he's also concerned about talk of privatizing the country's mail service. If they carve up and sell the postal service, we will lose small businesses, seniors, veterans, royal families, and everyday customers who trust us to deliver. The union of royal letter carriers

is set to rally Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Hansi Luang and Pierre Nus, Silver Spring, Maryland. Police in New Mexico say a 20-year-old man and three teens have all been arrested on suspicion of murder following a shooting on Friday in Las Cruces. Three people were killed, 15 others were injured in that shooting. New Mexico Congressman Gabe Vasquez says too many lives have been forever changed by what happened. My heart is with the families and their children, with every person in our community.

Police say between 50 and 60 shell casings were found scattered across the park after the shooting. Canada will be holding parliamentary elections on April 28th. New Prime Minister Mark Carney Sunday announced a five-week campaign leading up to the voting. The election comes against the backdrop of a trade war and annexation threats from the U.S. President Trump acknowledged Friday that his actions have upended Canadian politics. He's repeatedly said that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state. You're listening to NPR News. Former U.S. Representative Mia Love of Utah has died. She was a daughter of Haitian immigrants

and became the first black Republican woman elected to Congress. She was 49 years old. Love had been undergoing treatment for brain cancer before her death. She had entered politics in 2003 when she won a seat on the Saratoga Springs Utah City Council. A new study makes the case that most art museums should be free to the public. As NPR's Chloe Velpin reports, the study analyzes the operating costs and visitor numbers of more than 150 U.S. museums. High entry fees are a major reason why people don't go to art museums. The study's findings show that making museums free actually lowers the cost per visitor,

especially for small and mid-size museums. Stephen Reilly is the founding director of ReMuseum, the think tank behind the report. Museums are not businesses. They're philanthropic institutions providing a public good for people. Reilly says choosing to get rid of entry fees doesn't make sense for every museum and the study does not address how art institutions might recoup the lost revenue if they choose to go free. Chloe Valtman, NPR News.

Walt Disney's troubled live action production of Snow White finally made it to the theaters this weekend. It came in first in ticket sales with $43 million sold but the movie cost $250 million to produce. The Stephen Soderbergh flick Black Bag, meanwhile, came in second place with $4.4 million across North American theaters, and Captain America, Brave New World, finished in third with $4.1 million in sales. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.