NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-25-2025 5AM EDT

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

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Making time for the news is important, but when you need a break, we've got you covered on All Songs Considered, NPR's music podcast. Think of it like a music discovery show, a well-deserved escape with friends, and yeah, some serious music insight. I'm going to keep it real. I have no idea what this story is about. Hear new episodes of All Songs Considered every Tuesday, wherever you get podcasts. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingly. The National Security Council says it's investigating how the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine

was included on a group text detailing plans for U.S. military strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg says on March 15th, he received details about the attacks roughly two hours before the U.S. began launching airstrikes. The NSC says the text chain appears to be authentic. Asked about it by reporters yesterday in Hawaii, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attacked Goldberg, describing him as deceitful and discredited.

Hegseth attacked Goldberg, describing him as deceitful and discredited. Hegseth added, Nobody was texting war plans, and that's all I have to say about that. President Trump says he didn't know anything about it until reporters questioned him at the White House. The NSC says the group text included Vice President Vance, the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. A federal judge in California could soon rule on a decision by the Trump administration

to cancel temporary protected status for more than a million Venezuelans and Haitians. As Sarah Hosseini with Member Station KQED reports, the status allows people from those countries to live and work in the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem moved to let those protections expire shortly after her confirmation in January. Speaking at a hearing in San Francisco, Plaintiff Cecilia González Herrera said taking part in the lawsuit is a way to honor her parents who fled the Maduro regime due to political persecution. There are people that raise me to speak against the power when there's injustices.

Judge Edward Chen questioned government lawyers about derogatory comments made by Noem and President Trump about Venezuelans and Haitians, which they argued were taken out of context. Chen must first decide whether he has the jurisdiction to intervene. For NPR News, I'm Sarah Hosseini in San Francisco. Strong winds and dry conditions are fueling wildfires in the Carolinas. Here's NPR's Giles Snyder. The most worrisome fires are burning in the western mountains of North and South Carolina in rugged terrain where experts say dried-out knocked down by Hurricane Helene last fall are fueling the flames. There have been mandatory evacuations in

North Carolina's Polk County where three wildfires are burning. In South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has declared a state of emergency for two fires in the mountains including one burning in Table Rock State Park. Firefighters have been setting intentional fires in an effort to contain the flames. With crews struggling to control the fires in the Carolinas, officials in New Jersey say a wildfire in the Pinelands region was fully contained Monday morning. This is NPR News. Israeli forces are pushing farther into areas of Gaza a week after Israel resumed airstrikes targeting Hamas. At the same time the armed wing of a smaller militant group in Gaza fired rockets at Israel today. Israel says its air defenses intercepted them. Two

journalists, including one from Al Jazeera, were among those killed in the latest Israeli strikes. A co-director of the Oscar-winning film No Other Land reportedly was attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and arrested by Israeli forces. Here's NPR's Mandelit Del Barco. Weeks ago Hamdan Bilal was on stage at the Academy Awards holding an Oscar for the Palestinian-Israeli co-production No Weather Land. The documentary chronicled ongoing bulldozing of Palestinian homes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It was in one of those villages that Bilal was attacked with other Palestinians and Jewish

activists, according to the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. The group reports the assault was carried out by a group of Israeli settlers, some masked, some carrying batons, knives, and an assault rifle. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to NPR's request for information but police told Channel 12 News in Israel that the clash began with Palestinians throwing stones at a Jewish minor. They report three Palestinians including Bilal were arrested along with a Jewish minor. Mandelite Del Barco, NPR News. A panel of justices from Brazil's Supreme Court is expected to meet today to decide whether the

country's former president, Chair Bolsonaro, will stand trial on charges of attempting to stage a coup. I'm Dave Mattingly in Washington.