NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-04-2025 11PM EDT

Episode Date: April 5, 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, I'm Dale Willman. Stock sank for a second day today as investors recoiled from President Trump's widening trade war. Estimates are that upwards of six trillion dollars in wealth has evaporated almost overnight. NPR's Scott Horsley says the Dow tumbled more than twenty two hundred points today and is down nearly eight percent for the week. Fallout from the far-reaching tariff plan that Trump announced two days ago continues to pummel financial markets. China promised to retaliate

with steep tariffs of its own on U.S. exports. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged Trump's import taxes are higher than most people expected. As a result, Powell says they'll likely push prices up and slow the economy down more than many people anticipated. There was some positive economic news. The Labor Department reports that U.S. employers added 228,000 jobs last month, more than twice as many as the month before.

That count is a little stale though since it was taken three weeks ago before this week's tariff turmoil. Scott Horsley in Peir News, Washington. The U.S. Supreme Court today sided with the Trump administration, at least for now, in a dispute over the Department of Education's freeze on what it deems DEI-related grants. The vote was 5-4. And Piers, Nina Trottenberg reports. At issue are grants totaling $65 million for teacher training and professional development. A federal district judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order to consider the question. And while such 14-day orders are rarely appealable,

the Supreme Court majority viewed this case differently and granted the administration's request to block the lower court order. Chief Justice Roberts noted his disagreement. The other three dissenters were more pointed. They noted that not only was the TRO about to expire anyway, but that the court wasn't making a mistake by making significant changes in the law with bare bones, briefing, no argument, and scarce time for reflection. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington. Severe storms that began in Kentucky on Wednesday have now led to the death of a nine-year-old

boy. And as Karen Zarev, member station WUKY, reports, the state is preparing for more rain and flooding over the weekend. At least four people have been injured and a child died after being swept away by floodwaters while walking to the bus stop. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said roadways across the state are closed and the National Garden Swiftwater rescue crews have been deployed. A state of emergency continues, and President Trump has approved a disaster declaration

for all of Kentucky's 120 counties. That's Karen Zahra reporting. Oklahoma's Health Department says the state now has 10 active cases of measles, four other states have active cases, right now including Texas, which has been dealing with a major outbreak. 16 other states have also reported cases of measles so far this year. The country

has now more than doubled the total number of measles cases that were found in all of 2024. You're listening to NPR News. One week after a massive earthquake hit the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar search teams continue to pull bodies from the ruins of buildings. The official death toll has now reached 3,300 people. Myanmar's military and several key armed resistance groups have all declared ceasefires to facilitate the flow of international aid. A 97-year-old giant Galapagos tortoise in Philadelphia has become a mother for the first time. As Peter Krimans, a member station, WHYY reports, the new baby tortoises are a critically endangered species.

The four hatchlings are Western Santa Cruz Island Galapagos tortoises. The Philadelphia Zoo's Lauren Augustine says there may be more on the way. Baby tortoises are adorable. Our tortoises here are about the size of a tennis ball right now. The parents are Abrazo and Mommy, each approaching a hundred years old. Mommy has been in the Philadelphia Zoo for 93 years, captured wild in 1932. Augustine says that makes her genes extremely rare. The animals that come from the wild, we make the assumption that they're unrelated to the other animals in our population. And so genetically she is unique.

So she's incredibly important. There are 44 Specifically, she is unique, so she's incredibly important. There are 44 Western Santa Cruz tortoises in captivity and only a few hundred in the wild. For NPR News, I'm Peter Krimins in Philadelphia. Alex Ovechkin is now tied Wayne Gretzky's National Hockey League all-time scoring record. He scored two goals in the Washington Capitals home game against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight. He's now reached four goals for the 14th time in 20 seasons. That's the most

in league history. The 39-year-old has six more regular season games this year in which he could break the record. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News. 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.