NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-03-2025 10PM EDT

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

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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 NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. U.S. stock markets just ended their worst day in five years today as investors reacted to President Trump's latest tariffs plan. As NPR's Maria Aspin reports, the Dow closed down nearly 4%. Investors, businesses, and consumers are all trying to process

the implications of President Trump's newest sweeping tariff plan for the global economy. All of the major U.S. stock indices plummeted. Major household names, including Nike, Apple, and Amazon, lost billions of dollars in value. Trump has ordered a minimum 10% tax on nearly all imports starting this weekend and much higher tariffs on goods from dozens of countries, including some of the United States' closest allies. Economists warn the new taxes will make consumers pay higher prices and weaken dozens of countries, including some of the United States' closest allies. Economists warn the new taxes will make consumers pay higher prices and weaken the broader U.S.

economy. The investment bank JPMorgan is now warning that the tariffs, if sustained, will push both the U.S. and the world into a recession. Maria Aspin and PR News, New York. It was the worst day on Wall Street since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March of 2020, the Dow plunged more than 1,600 points. At Asdaq fell 1,000 points. The S&P 500 was down nearly 5 percent. A federal judge is saying the Trump administration may have acted in bad faith by rushing Venezuelan migrants out of the country before a court could step in to block their deportations

to El Salvador. U.S. District Court Judge James Boesberg asking whether the administration ignored his orders to turn planes around that were ferrying deportees out of the country. MPR's Joel Rose was in the courtroom. The DOJ continued stonewalling today as they have for weeks over these details, even invoking the state's secrets privilege to avoid revealing details about the flights. Boasberg noted today that none of the information he is asking for is classified, and he pushed the DOJ lawyer to name another case where unclassified information was covered by the state secrets privilege. He did not have an answer for that one either.

NPR's Joe Rose. A new report is showing layoffs in the U.S. have surged near unprecedented levels. NPR's Windsor-Johnston reports the latest figures are mainly driven by Doge, the team carrying out President Trump's directive to shrink the federal government. The report was released by executive coaching firm Challenger Gray and Christmas. It showed employers announced just over 275,000 job cuts in March, a more than 200% increase from the same period last year and a level not seen since the pandemic. The layoffs have sparked widespread backlash from labor unions, advocacy groups and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Critics argue that reducing the federal

workforce on such a large scale will weaken critical public services, delay essential programs and hurt millions of Americans who rely on government assistance. The Trump administration says the cutbacks will reduce the nation's deficit and promote long-term economic stability. Windsor-Johnston, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR. Well, President Trump says he's fired some White House national security officials speaking aboard Air Force One today. The president declined to say, although it was at the urging of conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer. The NSC advises the president on most important security challenges facing the country.

Trump did confirm an Oval Office meeting with Loomer, a frequent presence on the campaign trail during the run-up to the 2024 election. Loomer has been speaking out against some members of Trump's national security team. This week's layoffs at federal health agencies could make it harder for the public to learn about what's happening inside the government. NPR's Sydney Lupkin reports teams that fulfilled requests from the public for medical records were among those cut. Sydney Lupkin, NPR News.

Since the 1960s, the Freedom of Information Act has helped members of the public get access to government records. Entire teams that handled public records requests for HHS lost their jobs on Tuesday, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and other agencies. Jason R. Barron is a former director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration. He's now a professor at the University of Maryland. Firing FOIA staff is antithetical to openness and transparency. He says these are the American people's records,

and the layoffs will exponentially increase backlogs and delays for them to come to light. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. Critical futures prices took their steepest drop in years after OPEC agreed to an increase in output just a day after the announcement of the Trump administration's tariffs. Oil fell more than 6% to settle at $66.95 a barrel. This is NPR.

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