NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-25-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

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NPR informs and connects communities around the country, providing reliable information in times of crisis. Federal funding helps us fulfill our mission to create a more informed public and ensures that public radio remains available to everyone. Learn more about safeguarding the future of public media. Visit ProtectMyPublicMedia.org. Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corva Coleman, the National Security Council is reviewing a series of texts among senior Trump administration officials.

The editor-in-chief of The Atlantic was inadvertently included on these texts. Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg says that over a few days, the texts explicitly laid out this month's U.S. plans to attack Yemen, and he received them on his unsecured phone. By Saturday the 15th, the text chain is filled up with what I would call operational military information of the sort that I'm not comfortable sharing. I'm not comfortable sharing. I'm sitting in my car in a parking lot in a supermarket at 1144 a.m. Eastern, and I get this war plan from Pete Hegseth. And it basically says, in two hours' time, you'll

begin to see the effects of the bombing. Danielle Pletka And in two hours' time, the bombing in Yemen began. The texts were on a secure messaging app that could be hacked by U.S. enemies. Goldberg says that he left the text chain and no one ever questioned why. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says that Jeffrey Goldberg is a liar. Nobody was texting war plans, and that's all I have to say about that. That's not what the White House National Security Council says. A spokesman says the explicit texts on secret U.S. military information appear to be authentic.

The Senate Finance Committee will hold a confirmation hearing today for President Trump's choice to run the Social Security Administration. And here's Ashley Lopez reports he'll face numerous questions from senators. Frank Bisognano is the CEO of payments technology company Pfizer. Before that, he was an executive at JP Morgan Chase during the financial crisis. If confirmed Bisignano would be running the Social Security Administration, which has a staff of more than 55,000 employees and serves more than 73 million Americans.

Ahead of the hearing, a group of Democratic senators sent a letter to Bisignano raising concerns about new administrative requirements for beneficiaries, office closures, and plans to cut 7,000 jobs from the agency, which is already at a 50-year staffing low. Ashley Lopez, NPR News. The United Nations is polling some international staff from Gaza after an Israeli tank hit one of its compounds. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports it killed one staffer and wounded several others. According to spokesman Stefan DeJarric, the UN will be pulling out about a third of its

100 international staffers currently in Gaza. He says this is because of devastating Israeli airstrikes that have claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians in Gaza, including UN personnel. He says the UN is not leaving Gaza and is determined to continue to help Palestinians there, but Israel has cut off aid for more than three weeks now. Michelle Kelliman, NPR News, Washington. On Wall Street in pre-market trading, Dow futures are higher. You're listening to NPR. Anti-government protests continue to widen in Turkey. This comes after the ruling Turkish government imprisoned the mayor of Istanbul. The mayor

is considered to be the strongest rival to Turkey's longtime president. Protesters are furious they're filling streets, conducting walkouts, and staging boycotts of companies that have ties to the Turkish government. The DNA testing company 23andMe is seeking bankruptcy protection, and Beers Joe Hernandez reports the move raises questions about the private data it has collected. The biotech firm that allows users to spit in a tube and send away the sample for DNA analysis is seeking a buyer. It comes a few months after the California company laid off roughly 40 percent of its staff and two years after a data breach affected millions of customer accounts. Data privacy experts are now raising concerns about what could

happen to the sensitive genetic information of 15 million users if 23andMe is sold. The company says customers can still delete their data and close their accounts if they choose and has vowed to remain in operation through the bankruptcy process. Jo Hernandez, NPR News. Police in Austin, Texas say they are investigating after several incendiary devices were discovered at a Tesla dealership in the city. No injuries have been reported. Authorities say the devices were flammable. The incident comes as there have been numerous reports of attacks on Tesla dealerships and cars across the country. There have also been protests of Tesla CEO Elon Musk's role of cost cutting

in the Trump administration. I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News in Washington.