NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-03-2025 9PM 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. President Trump's choice of country slated for additional tariffs runs the full gamut, vast and tiny, wealthy and impoverished.

CNPR's Jackie Northam explains some of them are even uninhabited. Many of the countries on Trump's tariff target list can hardly be described as economic powerhouses working against U.S. interests. Guyana, Mauritius, Madagascar, and many others now face more than 30 percent tariffs. Lesotho, one of the world's poorest countries, is subject to 50 percent tariffs. Then there's Heard Island and McDonald Islands, a group of islands in the Antarctic whose only inhabitants are penguins and seals, facing 10 percent tariffs. It's a similar situation in the Norwegian territories of

Svalbard and Jemian. And the French territory of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a population of about 5,000, it exports fish to the U.S. and is now facing 50 percent tariffs. Jackie Northam, NPR News. Nineteen Democratic state attorneys general have filed suit against the Trump administration over a wide ranging executive order that would overhaul the nation's election systems. From member station KJZZ in Phoenix, Wayne Schertzky has more. The order, signed by President Trump on March 25th, seeks to make a host of changes to the way elections are run throughout the country. That includes requiring proof of citizenship, like a passport, to register to vote. Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays says the order is unconstitutional because the power

to regulate elections is reserved for the states and, in some cases, Congress. But nowhere, absolutely nowhere, does the Constitution give the president or the executive branch any independent power to modify the state's procedures for conducting federal elections. The lawsuit, filed in a Massachusetts federal court, asks a judge to declare the order unconstitutional and block its implementation. For NPR News, I'm Wayne Chetky in Phoenix. The cuts aren't over at the Department of Health and Human Services. On the heels of laying off thousands of staffers this week, the agency is cutting spending

on contracts. NPR's Sydney Lupkin reports. HHS will cut spending on contracts by 35% across all federal health agencies. That includes the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the department, confirmed the spending cuts to NPR. He says they're part of an initiative to cut quote unnecessary spending. According to its contracting website, HHS says it considers contractors as partners, but they have to meet strict acquisition rules

and performance and transparency goals. Sydney Lepkin, NPR News. The Trump administration is threatening to withhold federal funding from public schools if they have diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Education Department in a letter sent to state leaders said Title I funding would be threatened if schools fail to follow the directive. The Dow plunged more than 1,600 points today. This is NPR. The UN Secretary General says he's sending top officials to Myanmar not just to help

the country recover from an earthquake that killed more than 3,000 people, but also to try to restore democracy and end a conflict that has ravaged the country. NPR's Michelle Kellerman has the story. Secretary General Antonio Guterres says Myanmar was already suffering from political, human rights and humanitarian crises before an earthquake, in his words, supercharged the suffering. He says he welcomes the announcement by Myanmar's military rulers of a temporary ceasefire in a civil war.

This is essential to help aid flow and let rescuers do their jobs. But an end to fighting must quickly lead to a beginning of a serious political dialogue and the release of political prisoners. He's sending the UN's emergency relief coordinator, Tom Fletcher, and his special envoy, Julie Bishop, to Myanmar to work on that. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, the State Department.

The Pentagon's Acting Inspector General says they will review Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of the Signal Messaging app to convey plans for a military strike against Houthi militants in Yemen. We will also look at other defense officials' use of the publicly available encrypted app, which is not designed to handle classified material, is not part of the official Defense Department Secure Communications Network. Hegseth's use of the app came to light when a journalist was inadvertently added to a text chain by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. Crude oil futures prices took their steepest drop in years after OPEC agreed to a surprise increase in output oil, settling at $66.95 a barrel in New York.

I'm Jack Spear, NPR News in Washington. 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 switch.