NPR News: 03-25-2026 2PM EDT

0:00Lie from NPR News, I'm Lakshmi Singh. A California jury finds Metta and Google are to blame for the depression and anxiety of a woman who compulsively use social media as a small child, awarding her $3 million in a rare verdict holding Silicon Valley accountable for its role in fueling a youth mental health crisis. The jury also decided that Metta and Google's actions should trigger punitive damages, which means there will be a separate phase of the trial where the jury will decide what amount of damages are appropriate to punish the multi-trillion dollar companies for their conduct. TSA staffing shortage at major airports in the U.S. is growing more severe the result of a political fight over DHS funding and PR's Barbara Sprint with the latest. Senate Republicans sent Democrats another potential deal yesterday. The top Democrats said it didn't have the significant reforms that they want to see. What's new is the potential to fund DHS minus ICE's detention and deportation operations.

1:04And this would allow the rest of the department to get funded, including those TSA officers currently working without pay. Barbara Sprint reporting, Kuwait says a drone hit a fuel tank at its international airport overnight, causing a large explosion in fire. That airport and others in the region have been attacked multiple times by Iranian drones in the war. In addition to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia says it intercepted more missiles and drones overnight, targeting its oil-rich eastern region with debris falling on homes there. The UN Human Rights Chief Volkerturk says U.S. and Israeli attacks are hitting homes, hospitals, schools, and cultural sites in Iran. He also says Iranian attacks are striking energy and water infrastructure in Gulf Arab countries. Many of the strikes in this conflict raised serious concerns on the international law, which prohibits attacks, targeting civilians, and their infrastructure. And he says the UN assesses the war has already caused some $63 billion in economic losses across the Arab region. Aya Batrawi, M.P.R. News, Dubai.

2:06The Missouri Supreme Court's upholding a new congressional map designed to net Republicans another house seat in the midterms here at St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum. The state's high court ruled 4-3 that even though there's no explicit authorization for mid-daked redistricting, there's no explicit prohibition either. The GOP Attorney General Catherine Hanoi says that's a clear win for Republican backers of the redistricting plan. The map can be redrawn mid-decade. Attorney Chuck Hatfield represented redistricting opponents in court. He noted the new map could be subject to a referendum this year and may never go into effect. This was a battle in a bigger war. It was a major battle. Missouri was one of several GOP-led states that redrew their congressional maps to favor Republicans at the behest of President Trump. It's like California responded by redrawing their lines to help Democrats. That's Jason Rosenbaum reporting. It's M.P.R. News. Today's show host, Savannah Guthrie, is opening up about the agony she says her family's been enduring daily since her 84-year-old mother went missing from her Arizona home

3:10more than seven weeks ago. In an interview with her colleague, Oda Kotby, a portion of which was previewed today, Guthrie tearfully asks anyone with information about the disappearance of Step Forward. This is the host first interview since her mother Nancy went missing. Investigators say Nancy Guthrie might have been kidnapped. The clues remain scarce. Kidnappings for ransom are relatively rare in the U.S. and the numbers are not tracked by the Justice Department, but the Guthrie case has brought attention to the matter. A network of families that has helped scientists understand Alzheimer's disease is facing an uncertain future. The families carry very rare gene mutations that cause Alzheimer's to appear in middle age. For nearly two decades, the National Institutes of Health has funded research on these families through a group called the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network. Dr. Tammy Benzinger of Wash U Medicine says it's unclear whether that will continue amid cuts in research by the Trump administration. The network that's been built up without funding all of that would fall apart.

4:15In 2025, the NIH rejected a grant application that would have brought about $13 million in the first year. Instead, the network got about 8 million and no money for international sites, which account for about half of its families. The current funding is scheduled to run out on June 30th. John Hamilton and PR News. Listen to this podcast sponsor-free on Amazon Music with a Prime Membership or any podcast app by subscribing to NPR News Now Plus at plus.npr.org.