NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-25-2025 11AM EDT

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

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Singapore is one of the busiest cities in the world. But biologist Philip Johns is fascinated by a different inhabitant on the island. Otters. At rush hour, downtown, the otters would swim toward each other, and there are literally tens of thousands of people who are on their way to work. How ideas, emotions, and creatures coexist. That's next time on the TED Radio Hour from NPR. Live from NPR News in Washington, on Korova Coleman, the White House says

President Trump retains confidence in his national security adviser, Mike Walz. NPR's Franco Ortonius reports the White House is downplaying a stunning revelation that a journalist was included in a group chat discussing U.S. military strike plans. The national security adviser has been under increasing pressure since raising national security concerns over the incident. According to a report in the Atlantic, Waltz accidentally invited the media outlet's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, into a private group chat of top officials discussing U.S. strikes on

the Houthis in Yemen. In a phone interview Tuesday with NBC News, President Trump described the situation as quote the only glitch in two months and it turned out not to be a serious one. He added Michael Waltz has learned a lesson and he's a good man. Franco Ordonez, NPR News. Meanwhile NPR has learned staffers at the Pentagon received an email about a week ago. The email warned Pentagon staffers about a vulnerability in the messaging app Signal. This was the one used by the Trump officials to discuss the military information.

A note, NPR CEO Catherine Mayer, is on the board of the Signal Foundation. The wife of Vice President Vance is to visit Greenland this week. Mrs. Vance will be joined by Trump administration officials on a trip that is seen as fraud. President Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. will take over Greenland, but NPR's Deepa Sivaram says Greenland is a territory of Denmark. In an interview with a Greenlandic newspaper over the weekend, the prime minister of Greenland said that the visit from members of the Trump administration was very aggressive.

He said that Greenland has to face the seriousness of the situation of the U.S. wanting to annex them. Now, Trump, for his part, says this isn't a provocation. He says it's a purely friendly visit and claimed that the U.S. was invited to visit Greenland, though NPR is not able to confirm if there was an invite. NPR's Deepa Shivaram reporting. The Kremlin says both the U.S. and Russia are analyzing the outcome of yesterday's talks between their delegations in Saudi Arabia.

These stretched for 12 hours. They were focused on expanding U.S. ceasefire efforts in Ukraine. NPR's Charles Maines reports from Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two sides held detailed negotiations, the contents of which would not be revealed to the public. Yet both Washington and Moscow acknowledged the talks focused on expanding a partial ceasefire on attacks on energy infrastructure to now include shipping in the Black Sea. In effect, it's an attempt to resuscitate a 2022 United Nations brokered agreement that

tried to guarantee safe passage of Russian and Ukrainian grain and fertilizer shipments out to world markets. The deal later collapsed amid Kremlin complaints that sanctions restrictions prevented exports of Russian fertilizer, prompting speculation the White House is offering some form of sanctions relief this time around. Charles Maynes, NPR News, Moscow. This is NPR. Maynes' Democratic governor is refusing President Trump's recent demand that she apologize for their clash

over transgender athletes. Maine Governor Janet Mills criticized the president's policies instead. Maine Public Radio's Kevin Miller has more. Last month, Mills told Trump, see you in court, after he threatened to withhold federal funds unless Maine stops allowing transgender athletes in women's and girls' sports. Trump demanded a full-throated apology from Mills over the weekend.

She responded with a stinging critique, speaking to reporters at an event in Bangor. If the current occupant of the White House wants to protect women and girls, he should start by protecting the women and teenage girls who are suffering miscarriages and dying because they can't get basic, life-saving health care in states across this country. The Trump administration has given Maine until later this week to agree to change its policy. For NPR News, I'm Kevin Miller in Augusta. Anti-government protests continue to widen in Turkey. This comes after the ruling Turkish government imprisoned the mayor of Istanbul. The mayor is considered the strongest rival to Turkey's longtime president. Protesters are furious. They're

filling streets, conducting walkouts, and staging boycotts. A court in Japan has ordered the unification church to be dissolved in that country. This is part of an investigation that began with the 2022 assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. An investigation into his slaying revealed close relationships between the church and some Japanese lawmakers. The Unification Church says it will appeal immediately.

I'm Corva Coleman, NPR News in Washington. A lot happens in Washington.