NPR News Now - NPR News: 04-06-2025 8AM EDT

Episode Date: April 6, 2025

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This is out of her glass. In Lily's family, there's a story everybody knows by heart. If this story had never happened, all of us wouldn't be here right now. Sammy wouldn't be here. Nina wouldn't be here. Wally wouldn't be here. Anyone that we know wouldn't be here.

So what happens when Lily's mom tells her the story is not true? This American life, surprising stories every week. Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm J.L. Snider. The death toll is rising in the Midwest and Southern U.S. as another round of storms spun off tornadoes and led to flooding this weekend. At least 16 people now reported dead, 10 in Tennessee and others in Missouri and Kentucky. And Little Rock, Arkansas, authorities say a five-year-old child was killed, NPR's Amy Held reports. Amy Held, NPR Newsweek. Meteorologists call it a once-in-a-generation

storm, a stubbornly parked frontal boundary behind days of relentless rain. It's finally moving eastward out of the region, but swollen waterways remain a risk, leading to water rescues and flooded roads from Nashville to Louisville, where Mayor Craig Greenberg says the Ohio River has risen several feet with more to come. We're still on track to have one of the top 10 flooding events in our recorded history. In most of the U.S., floods are getting more frequent and severe. Climate change makes heavy rain more likely.

This system, also behind dozens of tornadoes reported across states, tossing cars, downing trees and destroying homes. Amy Held, NPR News. The storms have knocked out power to more than 140,000 customers in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama. President Trump is seeking to reassure Americans about his new tariffs, urging them to hang tough after stock markets plunged last week. Trump says it won't be easy, claiming a historic end result in a social media post this weekend. Brian Kagee is a soybean farmer in Missouri. He spoke to ABC News. I think it's still a little uncertain of exactly how that's all going to shake out,

but I think initially the markets are not responding favorably to those tariffs. Trump maintains that his tariffs have escalated a trade war will bring trillions of dollars in investment to the US. Not everyone on board with Trump's assessment that his tariffs will pay off for Americans and other policies that he's imposed, including an immigration crackdown. Big crowds joined more than 1,200 demonstrations around the country this weekend. Protesters against Trump and Elon Musk gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and also in New York City, Boston and other locations. Here's a report from Detroit from Russ McNamara, member station WDET.

Jim Sanders stood in front of the Detroit Institute of Art, holding a Canadian flag. He says it's a show of solidarity and that he hates the way tariffs are being imposed on US allies. It's isolating the United States from the rest of the world. It's a mistake, but I hope the people that voted for Trump are now regretting it. They should.

Levies on new cars are expected to drive up prices and negatively affect the economies of Michigan and neighboring Ontario. Not all are upset. United Auto Workers and other major unions have supported targeted tariffs as a way of driving manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. For NPR News, I'm Ross McNamara in Detroit. This is NPR. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says ongoing Russian attacks show there is still insufficient pressure on Moscow to end the war. He posted a message on social media after Russian airstrikes hit the Ukrainian capital today, sparking fires, damaging buildings and killing one person. The women's

college basketball championship is on the line today in Tampa, Florida as Connecticut faces defending champion South Carolina. Reporter Steve Futterman is in Tampa. Connecticut has won the women's championship 11 times. A win today would make the Yukon women the most successful college basketball program women or men, topping the legendary UCLA men's program that has also won 11. Brianna Sturridge won four titles when she played with Yukon. She is here in Tampa cheering for the Huskies and her former coach Gino Oriyema. When you look back and see that we have 11 and now we'll go for the all-time record

is just a testament to Coach Ariema. A national title for South Carolina would be its second straight and third in the past four seasons. The two teams played earlier this season and UConn won by 29 points. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Tampa. Tomorrow night's men's championship is set after Houston and Florida advanced out of the Final Four last night. Houston scored a come from behind victory over Duke overcoming a 14-point deficit in the final eight minutes of the game. Florida defeated Auburn which was the tournament's

overall number one seed. I'm Jial Sny. This is NPR News.