NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-03-2025 6AM EDT

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, on Corva Coleman, the National Weather Service is warning people in central Tennessee to seek shelter. The latest in a series of tornadoes has been spotted in the area. The weather agency says millions of people from the upper Midwest to the South are facing weather dangers. W-A-B-C meteorologist Lee Goldberg says that includes heavy rain. It's a rare high-risk event for life-threatening flooding. That's from Memphis to Paducah.

Flash floods all the way from Little Rock to Louisville as well. In these areas we can see up to 15 inches of rain, major river flooding. It's historic flooding on top of tornado damage. Numerous tornadoes were reported from Missouri to Illinois to Arkansas. Sandra Lopez says one of them touched down in his area, Lake City, Arkansas. I turned the corner around that tornado shelter and there it is just coming straight for us. It's just getting larger and larger. The Missouri State Highway Patrol confirms one death in connection with the dangerous weather.

President Trump's new tariffs of at least 10 percent on all countries are taking effect now. Other nations will pay more than that. The European Union says it's prepared to retaliate. Terry Schultz reports from Brussels, the president of the European Commission says they'll try negotiations first. It's the second time in a month that Trump has leveled import duties on EU goods,

first on steel and aluminum, and now on everything else. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen slammed the move, which she says will hurt consumers all over the world. There seems to be no order in the disorder. The U.S. and EU are each other's largest trading partners overall, but von der Leyen suggests the EU may prioritize others now. We will continue to build bridges with all those that like like us, care about fair and rules-based trade as a basis for shared prosperity. She says with the largest single market in the world of 450 million consumers, the EU

can make it through the storm. For NPR News, I'm Terri Schulz in Brussels. President Trump says another major law firm has reached a deal to avoid one of his punitive executive orders. Milbank LLP is yet another law firm that will give millions of dollars in free legal work to issues that Trump and the firm support. And Pierce Ryan Lucas has more. President Trump is waging a campaign against big law firms that he accuses of weaponizing

the justice system. Trump has issued executive orders that punish specific law firms because they have represented clients or issues unfavorable to the president. Three of the targeted firms have sued and won court orders temporarily blocking Trump's actions. Other firms, though, have opted to reach an agreement with Trump. With today's deal, Milbank is now the fourth to do so. In a social media post, Trump says Milbank will, among other things, provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal services to causes that both Trump and the firm support. Milbank's chairman Scott Edelman says the agreement is consistent with the firm's core values.

Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington. This is NPR. NPR has learned that tech company Amazon has placed a bid to acquire video sharing app TikTok. Saturday is the deadline set by President Trump for TikTok to be sold away from its Chinese owner. But it's not clear if Amazon will prevail. NPR has learned that a coalition of U.S. companies, including Oracle, may have the edge.

Police in Nashville, Tennessee have released their final investigative report into the deadly 2023 mass shooting at the Covenant School. From member station WPLN, Paige Flager tells us the report examined the shooter who killed six people. The report details findings from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department's two-year-long investigation into the Covenant School shooting and shooter Audrey Hale. Police say Hale had been planning a mass shooting for several years before entering the Covenant School in March 2023 and fatally shooting three students and three employees. They found no indication of a grudge against the school where Hale was a former student. The shooter's firearms were obtained legally despite ongoing mental health issues. The report goes on to say that Hill wrote of wanting to emulate the Columbine

shooters. Police determined that the assailant acted alone in the planning and execution of the attack. Hill was killed by police during the shooting. No other charges are expected. For NPR News, I'm Paige Flager in Nashville. The news of President Trump's tariffs are affecting markets. Japan's main index lost nearly 3% today. On Wall Street in pre-market trading, Dow Jones industrial futures are down 1,100 points. I'm Korva Kuhlman, NPR News.