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

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

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When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Through Line podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Through Line, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Through Line podcast from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump's holding another cabinet meeting. His Doge Architect tech billionaire Elon Musk is attending. Musk is spearheading mass

layoffs and other cuts across the federal government. That includes the dismantling of the US Department of Education. Here's Education Secretary Linda McMahon. By having education at the best place where it can be, which is at the states, the local levels with governors, with best practices and tools which I hope the Department of Education can help supply for them, we'll do it. The abolishment of the Education Department still requires congressional approval. President Trump announced a new tariff today, a 25% tariff on any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela. In a social media post,

Trump called this a secondary tariff and said it would go into effect April 2nd. Here's NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben. Trump said countries buying the oil and gas would pay the tariff. This is not how tariffs work. An American tariff would be paid by a company in America importing foreign goods. The reason for the new tariff, Trump wrote, is violent immigrants from Venezuela. Trump claims, without evidence, that the Venezuelan government purposely sent criminals to the U.S. Multiple studies show no link between immigration and violent crime. On April 2nd, when this new tariff goes into effect, Trump also plans what he calls reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world.

Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News. Danielle Pletka As the U.S. tries to negotiate a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia in talks in Saudi Arabia, the Kremlin has stepped up attacks on Ukraine, where officials say at least 88 people have been injured, including 14 children. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports the attacks are complicating the talks. Video footage showed small children being carried out of an apartment building hit by a Russian missile in the city of Sumi on Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia.

Moscow speaks of peace while carrying out brutal strikes, said Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sibyga on social media. The attack on an industrial facility damaged high-rise buildings, a hospital, and a school. Over the weekend, Moscow launched one of its largest drone attacks on Kiev. One prominent Ukrainian politician said Putin is paying lip service to the Trump administration's call for a truce,

but his actions show something completely different. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Kyiv. French cinema star Gerard de Bardieu was on trial in Paris for allegedly sexually assaulting two women on a movie set in 2021. The trial could be a pivotal moment in the Me Too movement in France. More than 20 women have accused de Bardieu of sexually harassing or attacking them over the years. He has denied all the allegations. The 76-year-old actor may be best known around the world for his roles in films such as Life of Pi and The Man in the Iron Mask. From Washington, this is NPR News.

The United Nations says more than a million Syrians have returned home since December's ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. NPR's Lauren Frere has the latest from Damascus. The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, says it's logged the return of more than 300,000 Syrians from neighboring countries, including Turkey, which hosts the biggest number of Syrian refugees, nearly three million, as well as Lebanon and Jordan. The UN tally also includes more than 800,000

internally displaced people who've returned home from other parts of Syria. More than a quarter of returnees are living in damaged or unfinished buildings, according to the UN's migration agency, and more than seven million people Attorneys are living in damaged or unfinished buildings, according to the UN's migration agency, and more than 7 million people remain displaced within Syria, which is rebuilding after nearly 14 years of war. Lauren Freyer, NPR News, Damascus.

The genetic testing company 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company announced yesterday that it needs to sell substantially all of its assets through reorganization. 23andMe has also disclosed that its founder has resigned from her position as CEO but will remain a member of the board. She's relinquishing her role as chief executive after shares in the company plummeted in value. As of this hour, the stock price is down more than 57 percent, less than a dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 405 points or nearly 1 percent at 42,390. The S&P has risen 1.3 percent. The Nasdaq is also up nearly 2 percent. It's NPR. A lot happens in Washington every day, from the White House to Capitol Hill and everywhere in also up nearly 2%. It's NPR.