NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-04-2025 4PM EDT

Episode Date: April 4, 2025

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Imagine, if you will, a show from NPR that's not like NPR, a show that focuses not on the important but the stupid, which features stories about people smuggling animals in their pants and competent criminals in ridiculous science studies, and call it Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me because the good names were taken. Listen to NPR's Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Yes, that is what it is called wherever You Get Your Podcasts. Laxmelea Sing Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Laxmelea Sing. Investors' anxiety over President Trump's tariffs are sending U.S. stocks even lower.

We're seeing a more than 2,000-point drop in the Dow. More on the market, tariffs, and jobs in a moment. But first, a short time ago, we learned that a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador. Supporters in Hyattsville rallied in support of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia as his lawyers argued in court today that their client had legal, protected status in the U.S. but was unlawfully denied due process. The judge concurred.

Abrego Garcia's wife Jennifer reacting a short time ago. I want to say thank you to everyone that has helped us, that has supported us in fighting this and we will continue fighting for Kilmer, for my husband. The administration alleges Abrego Garcia is a member of a violent gang, though it concedes he was deported as a result of an error. Trump officials have been given until early next week to comply with today's order. Global markets are royal by tariffs. The President Trump defends as a means to making US manufacturing more competitive.

At a gathering outside Washington DC today, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addressed the projected impact on the U.S. economy. It is now becoming clear that tariff increases will be significantly larger than expected. And the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth. Powell's focus on inflation suggests the Fed will likely keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged. On Truth Social, President Trump urged the Fed to cut rates. The president had no public event scheduled today, but he has been sounding off on social

media saying that his economic policies are working. More on this from NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben. In one post, Trump says the communist leader of Vietnam told him in a call that Vietnam is willing to cut tariffs on U.S. goods. That's in response to Trump's announcement of 46 percent tariffs on Vietnamese goods. Separately, Trump posted in all caps that China did, quote, the one thing they cannot afford to do. That is, China announced retaliatory 34 percent tariffs on U.S. goods.

And yet another post aims to pressure Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates. Federal Reserve policymaking is independent of the president. Trump is at his golf club in Palm Beach, Florida for the day and will be hosting a private candlelight dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Danielle Kurtz-Slaman, NPR News. Danielle Pletka Well, the big jobs report is out. The economy gained a much greater than expected 228,000 jobs in March. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2 percent. However, official numbers have yet to reflect the full scope of Doge-driven

mass layoffs across the federal government. The Dow's closed down more than 2,200 points. This is NPR News. A boy in Kentucky died after being swept away by floodwaters. The first reported death in Kentucky from severe weather this week. WUKY's Karen Czar reports. KSK-OF-WQ officials in Frankfort, Kentucky say 9-year-old Gabriel Andrews was walking to his bus stop just after 6.30 this morning when he was swept away. Emergency crews began search and rescue operations. The child was found dead two hours later.

Franklin County Schools Superintendent Mark Cobb said support services are in place for students, faculty and staff. We are more than a school system. We're a family at Franklin County schools and we share this loss together. Kentucky remains under flood watches and warnings through the weekend. For NPR News, I'm Karen Zarr. A 97-year-old giant Galapagos tortoise in Philadelphia has become a mother for the first time. Here's WHY wise Peter Kremens. The four hatchlings are western Santa Cruz Island Galapagos tortoises. The Philadelphia Zoo's Lauren Augustine says 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 100 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 Western Santa Cruz tortoises in captivity and only a few hundred in the wild. For NPR News, I'm Peter Krimins in Philadelphia. It's NP. When Malcolm Gladwell presented NPR's Throughline podcast with a Peabody Award, he praised it for its historical and moral clarity. On Throughline, we take you back in time to the origins of what's in the news, like presidential power, aging, and evangelicalism. Time travel with us every week on the Throughline podcast from NPR.