NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-03-2025 5PM EDT

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear. One for the record books on Wall Street today. It was the worst single day for the U.S. financial markets in five years. All the major U.S. stock market indexes falling nearly 4 percent or more following yesterday's announcement by President Trump of steep tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. Virtually no sector of the market was safe today. Everything from tech shares to oil feeling the shock, Bitcoin, the U.S. dollar and gold also fell lower today. Even as markets are reeling, President Trump is defending his tariff announcement. NPR's Morales reports he's predicting his

tariffs will cause trillions of dollars to flood into the U.S. On his way from the White House to Florida for a charity golf event, Trump said he wasn't surprised by the market reaction to his tariffs. The Wall Street Journal estimates that the market drop equaled a loss of $2.7 trillion. But President Trump insists that the markets ultimately are going to surge. The thing that people have to talk about, we're up almost to $7 trillion of investment coming into our country.

And you'll see how it's going to turn out. Our country is going to boom. U.S. trading partners are promising to retaliate with tariffs of their own, which are in effect an import tax paid by American consumers, who economists say may pay as much as $2,100 a year more per family. Mara Liason, NPR News. The Dow fell more than 1,600 points today. The Nasdaq dropped 1,000 plus points.

The S&P 500 was down 274 points. As President Trump's tariffs whirl US markets internationally, they're also being pretty much universally condemned. The tariffs levied by the US against foreign goods, reversing a decades-long trend towards globalization. The White House is betting other nations will suffer enough pain they'll open their economies to more American exports, or some companies will move their operations to the US

to avoid tariffs. Automaker Stellantis, formerly known as Chrysler, has announced layoffs tying them to President Trump's new tariff on auto imports. NBR's Andrea Schue reports the 25 percent tariff took effect today. Stellantis says it's pausing operations at two assembly plants in Canada and Mexico starting Monday. Those plants make the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, the Jeep Compass SUV and a couple EVs. As part of a ripple effect, some 900 workers at U.S. plants that make components for those

vehicles will be temporarily laid off. The Canadian plant is expected to be idled for two weeks, the plant in Mexico for the rest of the month. In an email to employees, Delantis' Chief Operating Officer for North America, Antonio Felosa, wrote, quote, The current environment creates uncertainty. The company says it will continue to monitor the situation to assess whether further action is required. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

Stilandis also says it will idle a truck plant in Warren, Michigan. You're listening to NPR. Violent storms that tore through the south and the Midwest overnight have left at least six people dead and caused damage from Oklahoma to Indiana. The storms are leveling homes and in one area, sending debris flying five miles into the air. Dozens of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms hit since yesterday, with twisters concentrated in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Southern Illinois and Missouri.

Forecasters expect more bad storms in some areas with the potential for life-threatening flash flooding. A play co-written by and starring George Clooney officially opens tonight on Broadway. Jeff London reports, Good night and good luck has already broken the record for the highest box office of any Broadway play while still in previews.

Clooney and his partner, Grant Heslov, took their 2005 screenplay and adapted it for the stage. Both the film and play look at journalist Edward R. Murrow as he took on Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare in the 1950s. There are a certain kind of people wired a certain kind of way. Who know there's a story behind the story if you're bold enough to search for it? Even before opening, the play has caused a sensation. For the last two weeks, it's brought

in around $3.3 million. That's a record for a play on Broadway with tickets going for as much as $799. It runs through June. For NPR News, I'm Jeff London in New York. Critical futures prices took their steepest drop in years after OPEC agreed to a surprise increase in output just a day after the announcement of steep global tariffs by the Trump administration. Oil fell more than 6% today. I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington.