NPR News Now - NPR News: 03-31-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: April 1, 2025

NPR News: 03-31-2025 11PM EDTLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

This message comes from Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile took what's wrong with wireless and made it right. They offer premium wireless plans for less and all plans include high-speed data, unlimited talk and text, and nationwide coverage. See for yourself at mintmobile.com slash switch. Live from MPR News in Washington, I'm Shea Stevens. A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's plans to end temporary legal immigration status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. NPR's Adrienne Florido reports that 350,000 could have faced deportation as soon as this week.

Temporary protected status is for migrants from unstable or unsafe countries. President Biden extended it for Venezuelans until at least late 2026. The Trump administration canceled that extension, but Judge Edward Chen of the federal court in San Francisco said revoking TPS would cause irreparable harm for its beneficiaries. The ACLU's Emmy McLean represented them in court. The 350,000 Venezuelan TPS holders who were set to lose status and work authorization over the next week will be able to continue to live and work in the United States without fear while the litigation continues. Judge Chen found the lawsuit challenging the government's decision is likely to succeed.

Adrienne Flaherty, NPR News. Elon Musk visited the CIA today as he continues to press ahead with efforts to scale back the federal government. A court has ruled that some 50 members of the intelligence community have the right to appeal plans to fire them. NPR's Greg Meyry has details. CIA Director John Ratcliffe invited Musk to agency headquarters in suburban Washington to, quote, discuss government efficiency. The agency

did not provide details. Musk has also made recent visits to the Pentagon and the National Security Agency. In a separate development, a federal judge in Virginia said 51 employees in the intelligence community can appeal plans to dismiss them. The 51 were set to be fired because they worked on DEI programs at the CIA and the office of the director of national intelligence. But the judge said they could seek other jobs in the intelligence community. Greg Meyry, NPR News, Washington. U.S. Senator Cory Booker has been speaking on the U.S. Senate floor since around 7 p.m. to protest what he calls the Trump administration's disregard

for the rule of law. The New Jersey Democrat says the administration has inflicted a lot of harm since taking office 71 days ago. Booker says these are not normal times and that he'll continue speaking in the chamber as long as he is physically able to do so. A SpaceX capitol lifted off from Cape Canaveral tonight, carrying four people on a mission to orbit the Earth's polar regions. The FRAM2 crew consists of a Bitcoin investor,

a Norwegian film director, a German researcher, and an Australian adventurer. They're expected to carry out 22 experiments, including taking in X-ray and growing mushrooms. The FRAM2 mission is expected to last three to five days before the craft splashes down in the Pacific off Southern California. This is NPR. The United Nations and other groups are asking for unimpeded access to earthquake-ravaged parts of Myanmar so that relief workers can tend to survivors. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake caused power outages, fuel shortages, and disrupted communications there. The death toll from Friday's quake and aftershocks has now surpassed 2,000.

A Chinese company is planning the latest trial yet for implanting computer chips into human brains. They've inserted a wireless chip into the brains of three people and are planning a clinical trial involving 50 more by next year. Details from NPR's Emily Fang. The idea is to one day create an interface between the human mind and electronic systems by implanting a chip directly into people's heads. Chinese company New Cyber is aiming to implant its chips in 13 people by the end of the year. Right now, U.S. company Synchron, whose investors include billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, is running a trial with 10 patients.

Billionaire Elon Musk's company Neuralink currently has three people with its implants. China's New Cyber and U.S. companies hope that in implanting these chips in people's brains, they can help patients with paralysis improve physical mobility. Emily Fang, NPR News. A French court has convicted far-right politician Marine Le Pen of embezzling millions of dollars from European Union funding. Le Pen has been sentenced to four years in prison, with two years suspended.

She's also barred from holding public office for five years. Le Pen has said that she will file an appeal. This is NPR News. This message comes from Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile took what's wrong with wireless and made it right. They offer premium wireless plans for less, and all plans include high-speed data, unlimited talk and text, and nationwide coverage. See for yourself at mintmobile.com switch.