NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-26-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: March 26, 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, I'm Korva Coleman. National Security Advisor Mike Walt says he takes responsibility for creating a group chat on the commercial messaging app Signal.

Top Trump administration members used Signal recently to talk about secret war plans, including the Director of National Intelligence Tulsiabbard, and CIA director John Ratcliffe. But that chat also included a journalist. Gabbard and Ratcliffe were grilled by a Senate panel yesterday, and bears Ryan Lucas says they will face more questions today. The same intelligence officials are testifying before House lawmakers today. They'll no doubt face more questions. But stepping back a bit, the top Democrat in the House and Senate are both calling for an investigation.

Democrats, of course, don't have a lot of power. They're in the minority. Republicans control both houses of Congress. Some GOP senators have expressed concern about this security breach and how this all went down. That includes the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune. He told reporters yesterday that they need to figure out what happened. NPR's Ryan Lucas reporting.

A note, the CEO of NPR, Catherine Maher, also chairs the board of the non-profit Signal Foundation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his country is moving toward peace by accepting a ceasefire in the Black Sea. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports this will allow Russia to export its grain and fertilizer. Ukraine had successfully chased Russia's Black Sea fleet and commercial ships from the waters with air and sea drone and missile attacks. Ukrainian parliament member Oleksandr Merezhko says the Black Sea deal is a concession from

Ukraine. It means that we're trying to demonstrate that we are committed to peace and we agree with ceasefire proposals put forward by President Trump. He says Russia violated ceasefire agreements for years after 2015 when France and Germany were trying to stop the war in the Donbass. Basically I remain skeptical, but you know, who knows? Merezhko says Ukraine wants to get back its prisoners of war and stop the attacks on civilian infrastructure and its cities.

Eleanor Beardsley in NPR News, Keefe. A federal appeals court will let the Trump administration temporarily freeze a refugee program. NPR's Jasmine Garz reports it's for people displaced by conflict, disasters or persecution. After taking office, President Trump immediately paused refugee resettlement, saying that the U.S. lacks the ability to absorb large numbers,

that taxpayers money should not be spent on this program, and that there need to be assurances that refugees can assimilate into the country. In late February, a federal judge temporarily blocked that freeze, saying that while the president does have the power to suspend refugee admissions, that power is not limitless. Refugees who were approved before President Trump took office on January 20th will still be processed, but no new applications as the case makes its way through the courts. Jasmine Garz, NPR News, New York.

This is NPR News, New York. This is NPR. It was a year ago today that a cargo ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge just outside Baltimore. Parts of the enormous bridge collapsed, killing six construction workers. The port of Baltimore was closed for months because debris choked the river. Crews in the Carolinas continue to battle multiple wildfires. They're fueled by dry conditions and gusty winds. These have led to states of emergency and prompted evacuations.

Three fires in western North Carolina have burned thousands of acres. Blue Ridge Public Radio's Gerard Albert III has more. The three fires have been burning since last week in rural parts of the Appalachian Mountains. So far the fires have destroyed several houses and forced hundreds to evacuate. High winds this week have added to the adverse conditions. E.J. Dweiggans is a spokesman for the North Carolina Forest Service. We're seeing pretty extreme wind conditions, which means we're also going to see some

pretty extreme fire behavior out on the fire line. When that occurs you can see fire tornadoes, some pretty extreme fire behavior out there. Right now it's way too windy to have any of our aircraft resources come in and so we're really hoping this wind will die down. The two biggest fires, Dwegan says, are at 0% containment. For NPR News, I'm Gerard Albert III in Asheville. Thousands of acres have also burned in South Carolina. The Senate has confirmed two key nominees. Dr. Martin McCary will lead the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya will lead the National Institutes of Health.

I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News. Making time for the news is important. health. I'm Korva Kuhlman, NPR News.