NPR News: 03-25-2026 6PM EDT

0:00Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Ryland Barton. Senate Democrats have blocked a Republican effort to fund the Department of Homeland Security that included more money for immigration and customs enforcement. NPR Sam Greenglass reports negotiations to end the 40-day long DHS shutdown have stalled. The measure would have funded all of DHS, including ICE, except for the unit responsible for enforcement and removal operations. Most Democrats say they want to fund DHS agencies like TSA and FEMA, but are unwilling to give ICE more funding at all without policy changes to limit the tactics of its officers. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Republicans latest offer included none of the demands they made after federal officers killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Key Senate Republicans have called Democrats counter-unserious and say they're not sure where talks can go from here. Meanwhile, the acting TSA administrator says 480 officers have quits since the shutdown began. Sam Greenglass NPR News Washington.

1:01A battle of political images is playing out around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., NPR's Frank Lankford reports on how the president and his critics are duking it out. A temporary statue went up in front of the U.S. Capitol earlier this month, satirizing the friendship between President Trump and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In an administration-approved display, Trump's stern face stares down from a giant banner on the Department of Labor. Mary Corcoran runs the Save America Movement. It's a non-profit, which is placed posters around D.C., making fun of Trump's cabinet. We're in the midst of a propaganda war. Is it a fair fight? No, because they're using taxpayer dollars to fund their propaganda, and we're not. The White House dismissed criticism, saying, quote, President Trump is focused on saving our country, not garnering recognition. Frank Lankford NPR News Washington. Executives at Facebook parent company Meta stand to see their compensation soar, according to new SEC filings. The company's granting stock options to many of its top leaders, but the payout depends

2:05on hitting aggressive milestones, and PR's John Ruich has more. Seven of Meta's top executives have been granted tens of thousands of share options each, but they'll only vest if the company's share price starts hitting high targets within the next two years. The first milestone represents almost a doubling of the current share price. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is not included in the program. He's already worth more than $200 billion. A Meta spokesperson calls the stock options plan a big bet dependent on massive future success. It comes as tech companies scrambled to retain talent and compete in artificial intelligence. It also comes amid reports that Meta is planning more layoffs as it focuses resources on AI. And Meta is fighting a $375 million jury verdict this week after the company was found liable for failing to protect children from online predators. John Ruich NPR News US stocks largely rose today. This is NPR News. A growing number of US college teachers are replacing written exams with oral ones to help combat

3:06an AI crisis in higher education. Some are pairing Socratic-style questioning with written assignments or requiring students to attend office hours. Instructors say they know student use of AI is ubiquitous, but hard to police, and it's undermining student learning. The FDA is reviewing the safety of shots that can protect babies against RSV. As NPR's Rob Stein reports, the review is raising fears about restricting highly effective immunizations. RSV usually just causes cold-like symptoms, but the virus can be dangerous to very young babies. In fact, RSV is the leading cause of hospitalizations for babies in their first year of life. The shots, known as monoclonal antibodies, can reduce that risk by about 80%. It's unclear what prompted the FDA's new safety review, but some critics have raised questions about whether the shots have been linked to adverse reactions. The companies that make the shots and independent infectious disease experts, however, say there's plenty of evidence that the shots are very safe.

4:09Rob Stein in PR News. The seafood industry is betting people in the US will finally eat more seafood if it looks more like meat at the recent seafood expo North America and Boston. Many products resembled salami, meatballs, fried chicken, and more. Americans have notoriously limited appetite for seafood. They consume just about 19 pounds a year compared to a global average of 45 pounds. Most of the seafood Americans eat is shrimp, salmon, and canned tuna. This is NPR News.