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Episode Date: April 6, 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 Janene Hurst. President Trump's tariffs are unpopular with voters, but as NPR's Mara Lyson reports, he doesn't appear to be backing off. In the past, President Trump has reversed course when the markets or voters reacted negatively to his policies. But this time, White House advisors say he is staying

the course and Trump himself posted last week, quote, by policies will never change. A majority of Americans tell pollsters they disapprove of Trump's tariffs, and the S&P 500 is down by 15% since Inauguration Day. It's also unclear which of Trump's stated reasons for the tariffs will win out. The White House sometimes says they're meant to be permanent in order to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and bring in enough money, hundreds of billions of dollars, to pay for tax cuts and balance the budget. Other times, Trump has suggested the tariffs are just a negotiating tactic. Mara Eliason, NPR News. And U.S. futures contracts are sharply lower at this hour. Dow futures down 4 percent.

NASDAQ futures are down about 4.5 percent. College and university leaders are under pressure to comply with federal executive orders and policy changes or risk losing federal funding. And Piers Alyssa Nadwerny has more. Dozens of institutions are under federal investigation for allegedly failing to protect Jewish students from discrimination on their campuses. Dozens more for not complying with President Trump's interpretation of civil rights laws. A federal task force is reviewing billions of dollars in Harvard University's funding. A similar probe is underway at Columbia. Mary Dana Hinton is the president at Holland University in Virginia. It feels like you have to be the calm in the center of a storm.

For many of the university leaders I talk to, that's meant heading to Washington, trying to strengthen their relationship with people in power and to communicate that universities are essential for the economy and the nation. Alyson Adwerney, NPR News. Four days of continuous rain brought deadly flooding to several states, with at least 18 deaths blamed on the storms. In Kentucky, the governor is asking people in several communities to move to higher ground. Karen Zart with Member Station WUKY has more. So many roads are closed in Kentucky because of flooding. 250 barricades have been delivered from Chicago to divert traffic. Governor Andy Beshear says the water in several communities

is still rising. The rivers have encrusted in many areas of the state. And so there are a day, if not several days left on this event. Swiftwater rescue teams have been working around the clock. Flooding is being blamed for the deaths of a nine-year-old boy who was swept away while walking to the bus stop and a 74-year-old found in a submerged vehicle. For NPR News, I'm Karen Zarr in Lexington. You're listening to NPR News from Washington.

The University of Connecticut has won the Women's College Basketball Championship with a one-sided victory over South Carolina. And as Steve Futterman reports, it was a historic win. After nearly a decade, UConn is back on top. The Huskies dominated the championship game, easily beating defending champions South Carolina, 82 to 59. Connecticut led by 10 at halftime, and the lead just kept growing.

UConn was led by A.Z. Fudd and Sarah Strong. They each had 24 points. The great Paige Beckers in her final college game had 17 points. And Beckers, after coming so close, finally gets the one thing she was missing, a national championship. This is the 12th title for the Yukon women's program. It becomes the first basketball program, men or women, to win a dozen championships. For MPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Tampa.

At the weekend box office, a Minecraft movie debuted in the top spot with an estimated $157 million in ticket sales. It's the biggest of the year so far and broke a record for a video game adaptation that was previously held by the Super Mario Brothers movie. In second place, Jason Statham's action pic, A Working Man, with $7.3 million in its second weekend. In third place, the second installment

of the episodic The Chosen, Last Supper series, with $7 million. The third and final batch of episodes arrives in theaters next weekend. I'm Janine Herbst, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington. This message comes from NPR sponsor, Home Instead. Home Instead provides adaptable in-home senior care plans from qualified, compassionate caregivers that lend a hand when you need it most. Learn more at homeinstead.ca.

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