NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-24-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. President Trump held a cabinet meeting at the White House where his cabinet leaders praised him for his early moves on trade, inflation and immigration. Here's NPR's Mara Leysen. In addition to most of the president's cabinet secretaries, Elon Musk also had a seat at the table and cabinet secretaries praised him for his efforts to shrink the size of the federal government, laying off tens of thousands of federal workers. And Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem told the president that she will soon be traveling to El Salvador to visit the supermax prison that now holds hundreds of alleged Venezuelan

gang members deported by the U.S. She said the deportation sent a clear message to other would-be migrants. If you are thinking about coming to America illegally and coming here, don't do it. You are not welcome. Those deportations are currently being challenged in court. Mara Liason, NPR News, The White House. The White House says it's investigating after the Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, reported that he was mistakenly included in a text group chat about U.S. military plans to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen over a week ago. National Security Council spokesman says the administration's reviewing how an inadvertent number was added to the text chain. More than 100,000 Israelis took to the streets

in protest across the country over the weekend, according to event organizers. They protested a return to war against Hamas in Gaza, calling for talks to continue that would lead to a deal to release the remaining hostages held there. And Pierre's Kat Lonsdorf reports more protests are expected throughout the week. Protesters are demanding a deal between Israel and Hamas that would allow for the immediate release of all the hostages and another ceasefire in Gaza. If an agreement isn't reached, it is murder for the hostages, protesters chanted in Tel Aviv. Many feel the return to war has forsaken the remaining hostages to die in Gaza.

Israelis are also protesting what they say is the threat to their democracy, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has renewed his push for overhauling the judicial system, while also pushing to continue the war in order to appease far-right members of his government. Polls show a majority of Israelis are against the resumption of the war in Gaza. Kat Lansdorf, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Stocks rally today on hopes that fallout from the president's trade war may not be as damaging as feared.

Here's NPR's Scott Horsley. Concerns about tariffs and retaliation from U.S. trading partners have been a drag on the stock market in recent weeks, but investors now hope the White House might take a more targeted approach. The Treasury secretary has said countries that open their own markets to U.S. exports could be spared in the trade war. A key sign could come next week when the president's promised

to unveil additional tariff plans. Trump still sees tariffs as a useful tool, even if they raise costs for domestic consumers and invite a hostile response from other countries. That's NPR's Scott Horsley. It's NPR News. President Trump's promoted his personal attorney to a senior role at the Justice Department.

Alina Habe has been named interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, her home state. On Truth Social, Trump says Habe will succeed John Giordano, who has been named as ambassador to Namibia. Each spring, the sky comes alive near the tiny town of Choteau, 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 Ju Lin in Soto, Montana Montana. US stocks end the day higher. The Dow closed up nearly 600 points or 1.4 percent to settle at 42,583. The Nasdaq closed at more than 2 percent. The S&P was at more than 1.5 percent. It's NPR.