NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-26-2025 12PM EDT

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

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A lot happens in Washington every day, from the White House to Capitol Hill and everywhere in between. That's where we come in. On the NPR Politics Podcast, we keep you up to date on what happens inside Washington and what it means for you and your community. The NPR Politics Podcast, listen wherever you listen. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh. The Atlantic has published the group chat in which U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided specific details of imminent U.S. airstrikes in Yemen earlier this month. As NPR's Greg Myhre explains, the magazine is reporting on why it decided to share more detailed information two days after its editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported he was accidentally included in the Signal group chat with senior-level

Trump administration officials. The Atlantic magazine said that initially it decided not to publish the details of the US airstrikes in Yemen because they thought that would be irresponsible. But then President Trump and members of his administration said that there was no classified information in this signal chat. So then the Atlantic has now decided to go ahead and publish the full text with this timeline provided by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and then carried on with updates saying when planes and drones were taking off to carry out attacks and then the initial assessment of those attacks.

NPR's Greg Myhre reporting the CEO of NPR, Catherine Maher, who is testifying on Capitol Hill in a separate matter, chairs the board of the Signal Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the messaging app. Remote federal workers ordered to report back to the office say they're encountering a slew of on-site hurdles. NPR's Shannon Bond reports some employees say the mandate feels like a way to pressure them to quit. Millions of employees across federal agencies are being ordered back into the office full-time to comply with President Trump's executive order, terminating all remote work. Federal

workers say, in many cases, their offices just aren't equipped for the influx. There aren't enough desks and computer monitors. Internet connections and Wi-Fi service are slow or unavailable. They're running out of toilet paper and soap in the bathrooms. The workers NPR spoke with didn't want to use their names because they fear retaliation from the Trump administration for speaking out. They say the chaos and confusion are demoralizing. At the same time, agencies are also planning large-scale job cuts. Shannon Bond, NPR News. Russia is demanding sanctions relief in exchange for its participation in a U.S. brokered ceasefire

deal in the Black Sea region. Ukraine's president says his country has agreed to stop using force in the Black Sea. Here's NPR's Charles Means in Moscow. In a statement, the Kremlin said the Black Sea ceasefire deal would only come into force once the U.S. had lifted sanctions related entanglements to Russian maritime trade. That includes the return of Russia's state agricultural bank to international payment systems, access for Russian sea vessels to foreign ports, and lifting what Moscow says are problems ensuring Russian cargo.

In effect, the Kremlin is demanding the U.S. resolve Russian complaints that doomed an earlier United Nations broker deal, which tried to get Russian and Ukrainian grain and fertilizer out to world markets in the first year of the war. President Trump says his administration is studying the Russian proposals. Charles Mayne's NPR News, Moscow. This is NPR. A new report shows the planet is not yet on track to attain its goal of tripling renewable energy by 2030, but the International Renewable Energy Agency said findings released today

show last year renewable energy worldwide reached a record high. Nearly two-thirds of the new renewable electricity, that is, was in China. The report shows 92.5% of all new electricity brought online came from the sun, wind, or other clean sources. People around the world are switching religions. NPR's Jason DeRose reports on a new study from Pew Research that finds large portions of adults no longer practice the faith in which they were raised. Religious switching is especially common in East Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

In South Korea, Pew found that 50% of respondents had changed religions. In Spain, 40% said they'd left their childhood faith. In the U.S., 28% switched. And in Colombia, 25%. Christianity and Buddhism have experienced the largest losses. The biggest gains were among those who have no religious affiliation. Atheists, agnostics, and those who describe themselves as nothing in particular. Pew found very small percentages of people either left or joined Islam. The retention rates for Hinduism and Judaism are also high.

For the study, Pew surveyed nearly 80,000 people in 36 countries. Jason DeRose, NPR News. US stocks trading lower this hour than NASDAQ is now down more than 300 points or 1.6%. The S&Ps fall in more than three quarters of a percent. You're listening to NPR News. Shortwave thinks of science as an invisible force, showing up in your everyday life.

Powering the food you eat, the medicine you use, the tech in your pocket. Science is approachable because it's already part of your life. Come explore these connections on the Shortwave Podcast from NPR.